Grace Potter and the Nocturnals formed in 2002 in Waitsfield, Vermont, when drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter came together in the small Vermont town . Potter met Burr at an open-mike session while both were attending St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, growing up in Waitsfield, Vermont, where she began playing piano at the age of seven . The trio quickly built a devoted following through relentless touring, and began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums and touring extensively in the jam bands and music festivals circuit, playing as many as 200 gigs in a year . Their early sound was rootsy and raw, and after bassist Bryan Dondero joined, the group tracked a second homemade effort, Nothing But the Water, released in 2005, which garnered a good deal of critical acclaim thanks to its sturdy, throwback, rootsy sound and Potter's impressive vocal work, drawing comparisons to Janis Joplin, Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams, and Bonnie Raitt .
The band's breakthrough arrived gradually as major labels took notice. Fiercely independent and in control of their own career, Potter and the band turned down several major-label offers before signing with Hollywood Records later in 2005, which reissued Nothing But the Water for wider distribution in 2006, and in 2007 issued This Is Somewhere , which made an impressive debut at the top of the Billboard Heatseekers Chart . Their true commercial peak came with the self-titled 2010 album, their third studio album, which was the band's first release since the inclusion of two new members, rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco and bassist Catherine Popper . That album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of songs such as "Paris (Ooh La La)" and "Medicine" . The lineup by this point also included Scott Tournet on guitar/slide guitar and Matthew Burr on drums/percussion , cementing the classic Nocturnals roster.
The band's momentum carried into further milestones and high-profile collaborations. In 2011 Potter earned her first Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "You And Tequila" with Kenny Chesney , a crossover moment that introduced the band to country audiences during their run on the Brothers of the Sun tour. Their fourth and final album, The Lion the Beast the Beat, released in 2012, debuted at 17 on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart , and featured guest turns from Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson. The band also toured alongside acts like Taj Mahal, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews Band, The Black Crowes, Derek Trucks, Gov't Mule and Robert Cray , and in 2011 Potter co-founded the Grand Point North festival in her home state of Vermont.
The Nocturnals' run came to an end in 2015. The group disbanded in 2015, following Potter's divorce from bandmate Matt Burr, and she resumed her solo career by releasing the pop-influenced Midnight that summer . Since then, Potter has continued as a solo artist, releasing albums such as Midnight in 2015 and Daylight in 2019, and her latest album, Mother Road, in the fall of 2023 , earning further Grammy nominations along the way. Though the band's active years were relatively brief, their influence lingers in the memory of the blues rock and jam band scenes they helped energize, and Potter's reputation as a ferocious live performer, first forged on stages with the Nocturnals, remains central to her legacy.
For this archive, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals occupy a modest but meaningful place. Wayne Dennon photographed the band during a single show in 2011, right around the height of their touring years and their crossover success with "You and Tequila." That night resulted in 35 photographs preserved in this collection, images that have since been viewed by archive visitors 39,672 times, a quiet testament to how deeply the band's electric live energy still resonates with fans revisiting Wayne's work.
