Article Contributed by Backstage Flash
Published on 2026-07-07
Grace Potter came out swinging for the fences at the mighty Mishawaka Amphitheatre last night. Her mile-high smile, explosive stage energy, and unbridled enthusiasm lit up the Monday night crowd right out of the gate. Her swirling energy swept the crowd off their feet as the band launched into the opening number, “Stop The Bus.” Grace Potter and her band are not short of new material to play live. Her newest album, titled Trespasser, is scheduled to be released on August 21, 2026. The record is Potter’s seventh studio album and is considered to be a spiritual sequel to her 2023 full-length album titled Mother Road.
The songs on these albums are seriously introspective as Potter explored self-reflection and self-discovery within her inspired writing. There is nothing like a good road trip to enlighten your senses and stir up creativity. Mile markers, motels, and chasing the moonlight through the windshield have served as the backdrop of many of her recent compositions. Splitting time at home between Vermont and California, with a few thousand miles of pavement in between the two locations, served as the perfect landscape for Potter's mind to explore her innermost wild side and conscious thoughts. The highway is a lonely place, but she made good use of her surroundings with these personal observations she has so graciously shared with us.
The beauty of these lyrical observations and the deep emotions that come along with them carry over to the stage effortlessly, as she and her all-star band proved last night. Potter's joyous personality shined from the stage, as did her powerful presence and superb musicianship. Her voice was powerfully bluesy and dripping with raw, soulful grit. Her ability to transition from sultry to soaring mesmerized the mass of fans before her. Her deeply expressive vocals are only part of the package. If I wasn’t looking at her, I would think she was standing on her Hammond B3 organ. The swirling sounds coming from the Cadillac of keyboards were mind-bending, to say the absolute least.
Potter's full-throttle, four-chord approach to guitar playing is not out to reinvent the wheel; she's simply strumming from her soul, and man, that is all she needs to get her thick guitar-driving point across. Her voice and six-string style were the perfect blend of raw richness with just the right amount of spitfire swagger, creating a can’t-look-away evening. She was also playing the sexiest guitar there is, the Gibson Flying V. When she hangs that axe around her neck, she might as well be putting on a superhero cape that transforms her to rock n’ roll utopia.
Potter was not alone on stage last night. She has been touring with the same musicians for quite some time, including Ricky Dover Jr. on guitar, who absolutely nailed it last night and complements to the hilt the overall high-octane energy of the band. His guitar work was superbly tasteful, hard-rocking, and riveting. Indya Bratton, also on guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals, had great synchronicity with Potter. The stage energy the two of them shared yielded explosive audience and photography moments that will live on in everyone’s minds and hearts.
The rhythm section was a commanding presence. The solid anchoring of the band's foundation was perfectly presented with percussive prowess and thick, rich bass grooves that shook you to your core. Jordan West on drums and Kurtis Keber on bass guitar were solid as solid gets. They worked in perfect tandem, creating a foundational wall of sound that the rest of the band used as a platform to launch their musical attacks from. The band was tight together and individually brought their own explosive creative personalities front and center for the adoring crowd.
The band played a great assortment of tunes from different eras of Potter's journey. Their ability to weave rock, blues, soul, and country into one magnificent rock show was a stunning display of rock n’ roll athletics. The show moved in a kaleidoscope fashion with plenty of twists and turns in Potter's endless highway of ideas. The band's audience interaction and sheer joy of playing live music was super cool to witness. They love what they do, and they do it because it moves people in a direction of peace, love, and understanding, and man, we thank the band for doing just that. What a gig under the stars!
Thanks to Grace Potter and her very talented friends for entertaining us. Thanks to her crew, the crew at the Mishawaka, and the guests who showed up super strong on a Monday night to support these musicians. Grateful Web is always thrilled and honored to work with such kind and talented folks.
