Grace Potter - SOLD OUT
OJR
Thu, April 28, 2016
Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm
Cox Capitol Theatre
Macon, GA
$37.50 - $42.00
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Grace Potter
Described by Spin as “one of the greatest living voices in rock today,” and by SF Weekly as “the whole package”, Grace Potter continues to impress both critics and audiences with her musical achievements and captivating live shows.
Heralded as one of today’s best live performers, Grace Potter has played every major music festival from Coachella and
Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo and Rock in Rio. She’s had the honor of sharing the stage with artists such as The Rolling
Stones, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, the Allman Brothers, Neil Young, Mavis Staples, and The Roots to name just a
few. Most recently, she was given the honor of performing, along with Sheryl Crow, a tribute to the late Glenn Frey at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. For an artist who has built a devoted fan base through her electrifying
live show, Potter seems hell-bent on breaking out of the box when it comes to studio work. She refuses to be defined by a
single genre. Over the last three years, she has seamlessly transitioned from collaborating with the Flaming Lips for a Tim
Burton film, to songwriting and producing for soundtracks and theme songs for film and TV, to multi-platinum, Grammy-
nominated country duets with her friend Kenny Chesney, to most recently joining The Rolling Stones on stage for an inspired rendition of “Gimme Shelter.”
In late 2015, at the invitation of The First Lady, Michelle Obama, and TV host Conan O’Brien, Grace performed for the troops in Qatar (where she was joined on stage by the guitar-playing O’Brien). In the fall of 2015, Grace was honored with
the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, her home state of Vermont’s highest honor in the creative sector. Earlier
in 2015 Potter received the ASCAP Harry Chapin Vanguard Award by WhyHunger honoring her for her work with several
charitable organizations. On August 14th, 2015, Grace released her critically acclaimed solo album, Midnight, to a #17 debut on the Billboard 200 chart.
Midnight was recorded and mixed at Barefoot Studios in Hollywood, CA, with producer Eric Valentine. The core studio
band consisted of Potter and Valentine on most of the instruments, with Matt Burr on drums and percussion. Additional
contributions came from guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco and bassist Michael Libramento, as well as former tour-
mates and friends singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter, Audra Mae, Noelle Skaggs of Fitz & the Tantrums, and Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age.
“This album is about embracing life as it comes at you – with all its unexpected twists and turns,” says Potter. “I’ve experienced a huge amount of growth and change in the past two years - both personal and professional, and it can be
overwhelming for an artist to find ways to express that in a vacuum. So I tried to strip away the confines of other people’s
expectations. I started tapping into some of the deep-running themes that have shaped me into the human I’ve become,
and as I went deeper and deeper, I found the results to be insanely satisfying.”
Citing Miles Davis, Dylan, the Beatles, Bowie, Blondie and Beck as prime examples, Potter says she is drawn to artists who make sonic leaps from record to record—a notion she has explored throughout her career.
Potter has released four other studio albums through major label Hollywood Records: 2006’s Nothing But The Water, 2007’s This is Somewhere, 2010’s self-titled album and 2012’s The Lion The Beast The Beat, with the latter two both
debuting Top 20 in the U.S. In 2010, Potter was featured on Kenny Chesney’s Grammy nominated, platinum-selling hit,
“You and Tequila,” and his 2015 hit, “Wild Child,” which also achieved #1 status on the (billboard) Country chart.
Heralded as one of today’s best live performers, Grace Potter has played every major music festival from Coachella and
Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo and Rock in Rio. She’s had the honor of sharing the stage with artists such as The Rolling
Stones, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, the Allman Brothers, Neil Young, Mavis Staples, and The Roots to name just a
few. Most recently, she was given the honor of performing, along with Sheryl Crow, a tribute to the late Glenn Frey at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. For an artist who has built a devoted fan base through her electrifying
live show, Potter seems hell-bent on breaking out of the box when it comes to studio work. She refuses to be defined by a
single genre. Over the last three years, she has seamlessly transitioned from collaborating with the Flaming Lips for a Tim
Burton film, to songwriting and producing for soundtracks and theme songs for film and TV, to multi-platinum, Grammy-
nominated country duets with her friend Kenny Chesney, to most recently joining The Rolling Stones on stage for an inspired rendition of “Gimme Shelter.”
In late 2015, at the invitation of The First Lady, Michelle Obama, and TV host Conan O’Brien, Grace performed for the troops in Qatar (where she was joined on stage by the guitar-playing O’Brien). In the fall of 2015, Grace was honored with
the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, her home state of Vermont’s highest honor in the creative sector. Earlier
in 2015 Potter received the ASCAP Harry Chapin Vanguard Award by WhyHunger honoring her for her work with several
charitable organizations. On August 14th, 2015, Grace released her critically acclaimed solo album, Midnight, to a #17 debut on the Billboard 200 chart.
Midnight was recorded and mixed at Barefoot Studios in Hollywood, CA, with producer Eric Valentine. The core studio
band consisted of Potter and Valentine on most of the instruments, with Matt Burr on drums and percussion. Additional
contributions came from guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco and bassist Michael Libramento, as well as former tour-
mates and friends singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter, Audra Mae, Noelle Skaggs of Fitz & the Tantrums, and Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age.
“This album is about embracing life as it comes at you – with all its unexpected twists and turns,” says Potter. “I’ve experienced a huge amount of growth and change in the past two years - both personal and professional, and it can be
overwhelming for an artist to find ways to express that in a vacuum. So I tried to strip away the confines of other people’s
expectations. I started tapping into some of the deep-running themes that have shaped me into the human I’ve become,
and as I went deeper and deeper, I found the results to be insanely satisfying.”
Citing Miles Davis, Dylan, the Beatles, Bowie, Blondie and Beck as prime examples, Potter says she is drawn to artists who make sonic leaps from record to record—a notion she has explored throughout her career.
Potter has released four other studio albums through major label Hollywood Records: 2006’s Nothing But The Water, 2007’s This is Somewhere, 2010’s self-titled album and 2012’s The Lion The Beast The Beat, with the latter two both
debuting Top 20 in the U.S. In 2010, Potter was featured on Kenny Chesney’s Grammy nominated, platinum-selling hit,
“You and Tequila,” and his 2015 hit, “Wild Child,” which also achieved #1 status on the (billboard) Country chart.
OJR
"I grew up down round the Baby Blue Ridge," sings Oliver John-Rodgers—more commonly known as OJR—on the title track of his second full-length, Human Style (2012). The grandson of two country-music- and bluegrass-fanatics on both sides of the family, OJR, born in Virginia in 1992, was raised more directly on the angsty, grunge dynamics of Nirvana, Cracker, and Pixies. It's no wonder, then, that after a sort of "prodigal" return to the South—following four whirlwind years of soul-searching and adventure in the concrete jungles of New York, OJR relocated to Nashville in 2014—he has come to acquire the nickname "Acid Cowboy." "Rowdy and energetic," comments Philip Obenschain (No Country for New Nashville, July 2015), "the talented performer certainly flexes an affinity for country and folk he's adopted as part of his image. But his sound truly lands more in the rock realm, with fuzzy, indie, and psychedelic sensibilities, and earnest, electrifying songwriting." Such is the dualist nature of OJR, a bitter Southerner, a discontentedly old-fashioned millennial, an Acid Cowboy—who's perfectly content with calling it like he sees it. "I don't wanna be a part of this selfie situation," begins the second verse of "My Generation," the begrudgingly bouncy, bubblegum-pop single off Nashville Demos, OJR's third full-length release (2015). But "Aw," he goes on bemoaning, "I'm a part of the equation, and I don't wish to be." There's a restlessness in his songs, a supreme desire for more—more than, one might imagine, whatever the Good Book promised, or the Human Condition allows, or the American Dream offers. Eternally straddling a line between marketable/accessible and critical/challenging epitomizes the "OJR sound": It's at once alienating and universal. Such is, after all, the dualist nature of OJR.
But "dual" means "two," and to imply OJR wears only two hats is a grave understatement. While High School and Human Style—his first two LPs, respectively—reside exclusively in a folk-friendly, singer-songwriter neighborhood (à la Bright Eyes/Ryan Adams/Elliot Smith), 2015's Nashville Demos saw OJR exploring sonic terrain as diverse as grunge ("Numb"), outlaw country ("Runnin' from the Law"), doowop ("In Love with a Bowler"), sensual, 70's groove ("Lips on Fire"), and garage rock ("Front-Door Man.") Recorded in various bedrooms in cities all over the world—New York, London, Paris, and Nashville, to name a few--these "demos" certainly blur the line between home-recordings and a proper, studio-grade album. Ever the mercurial perfectionist, OJR might have self-produced all ten tracks on Apple's free, built-in software GarageBand, but nonetheless insisted on the time and attention to detail one is more likely to expect from a professionally tracked studio album than from anything made in a bedroom on a MacBook. To call, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, this album a collection of demos is OJR's way of saying it could go both ways: He's an artist and producer, a singer and songwriter, a Virginia boy and cosmopolitan. He's the Acid and the Cowboy. Such is the dualist nature of OJR, far more than that of just another rock and roller.
But "dual" means "two," and to imply OJR wears only two hats is a grave understatement. While High School and Human Style—his first two LPs, respectively—reside exclusively in a folk-friendly, singer-songwriter neighborhood (à la Bright Eyes/Ryan Adams/Elliot Smith), 2015's Nashville Demos saw OJR exploring sonic terrain as diverse as grunge ("Numb"), outlaw country ("Runnin' from the Law"), doowop ("In Love with a Bowler"), sensual, 70's groove ("Lips on Fire"), and garage rock ("Front-Door Man.") Recorded in various bedrooms in cities all over the world—New York, London, Paris, and Nashville, to name a few--these "demos" certainly blur the line between home-recordings and a proper, studio-grade album. Ever the mercurial perfectionist, OJR might have self-produced all ten tracks on Apple's free, built-in software GarageBand, but nonetheless insisted on the time and attention to detail one is more likely to expect from a professionally tracked studio album than from anything made in a bedroom on a MacBook. To call, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, this album a collection of demos is OJR's way of saying it could go both ways: He's an artist and producer, a singer and songwriter, a Virginia boy and cosmopolitan. He's the Acid and the Cowboy. Such is the dualist nature of OJR, far more than that of just another rock and roller.
Venue Information:
Cox Capitol Theatre
382 Second Street
Macon, GA, 31201
https://coxcapitoltheatre.com/
Cox Capitol Theatre
382 Second Street
Macon, GA, 31201
https://coxcapitoltheatre.com/
