Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

(Hollywood)

Rock hasn’t scared all the ladies away, and armed with a formidable voice, Grace Potter could share stages with blues-rock mama Susan Tedeschi. Potter and her Vermont-based band the Nocturnals plumb similar depths on their self-titled album, favoring big 1970s sounds (“Hot Summer Night,” “Medicine,” “Only Love”). There’s an element of early album syndrome, the temptation to smack the listener with rockers (“One Short Night,” “Tiny Light,” “Oasis”), then wow ’em with dabblings in bluesy soul (“Low Road,” “Money,” “That Phone”), reggae lite (“Goodbye Kiss”), and ballads (the country-flavored “Things I Never Needed”), just like … well, just like all the ’70s bands on which Potter clearly models the Nocturnals. This is well-crafted radio rock that undoubtedly catches fire live. (12:30pm, AMD stage)

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This article appears in October 8 • 2010.

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