When listening to music, history matters.  The singer’s, the band’s.  The listeners’, the venue’s.  

My history with Grace Potter is long, dating back more than a decade, first seeing her with The Nocturnals at the now-defunct Recher Theater in Towson, MD, surrounded by university students and a small haze of weed, sweat, and spilt beer.  Already-loved songs like “Falling or Flying”, “Nothing but the Water”, and “Ragged Company” became etched to the living stone of our hearts, Grace’s voice a constant and wild beauty in the homes we’ve made.  

Grace’s history defines her new record, Daylight, untamed emotions bursting from each song, alternately ferocious and fragile, tenderness presented in every imaginable way.  After all, every heavy sentiment reflects some kind of tenderness; it comes with wounds, it comes with kindness, and every space in between.  

Ever appropriately, Daylight follows Midnight, its rock and soul predecessor from 2015 that skirted the edge of hedonism and produced a host of (very good) songs that could live on radio stations around the country.  Daylight isn’t that, though Grace certainly continues to showcase her pop chops; she returns to a steadier sound, still exploratory, but mostly in the realms she’s traveled most in her career – americana, soul, a touch of the blues, and rock and roll.  A little less late-night glitz and a little more sunrise wrinkles.  

Since Midnight, Grace has endured a divorce, voluntarily moved away from music (for a time), married and had a son with Eric Valentine, and presumably much more.  But those changes are big ones, the kind that can burden a heart and reshape perspectives.  Those changes certainly shaped Daylight.  

Daylight is full of soul introspection – like much of Grace’s music – but plenty of rock, sex, and love.  The new songs shine brightly, and hearing them live only broadens their beauty.  

Grace Potter & the Daylights rippled down the road to Harrisburg, PA to play the historic Forum Auditorium, an almost-century-old theater that is now home to the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. The show was produced and presented by Harrisburg University. A stunning setting, its ceiling covered in constellations, its stage wide and expansive, Grace and her band more than added to its beauty, lighting it up with their own starbright brilliance. (Upcoming shows at The Forum can be seen here.)

The band took the stage first, tearing into “Medicine” while Grace danced out behind them, surrounded by smiles and an adoring audience.  Of the eighteen songs played, at least eight came from Nocturnals records. And on a night when many special moments happened, the new songs shone just as much – and in some cases, more – than any others.  

Grace showed a playfulness throughout the night, breaking into random songs (Johnny Cash’s ”Folsom Prison Blues”, American classic “Amazing Grace”, Tom Jones’ “She’s a Lady”), imploring the audience to stand (or sit) when appropriate, even if everyone had a seat.  Grace unfolded singles “Love is Love” (recently played on Jimmy Kimmel Live) and “Every Heartbeat” earlier in the set, the former an absolute powerhouse of a song and the latter a heartstoppingly beautiful ode to falling in love (not just the romantic kind).  

Grace and the band sprinkled the Nocturnals’ songs throughout the set, including favorites like, “Ah Mary” (ever appropriate) and “Timekeeper”, as well as going off-list to play a rending rendition of “Falling or Flying”.  But still, the night’s greatest highlights included Daylight songs, the shimmery soul of “Back to Me” and the sexy slink of “Desire” especially shiny.  

But nothing could adequately prepare the audience for “Release”, the emotional and thematic core of Daylight.  It is a hard song, full of challenging truths and complex emotions, written as a kind of prayer.  Grace sent the band offstage before ending the set with “Release”, her voice an exorcism.  She could end every show this way for the rest of her career.  

Grace never really left the stage for an encore, instead asking the crowd what they wanted to hear.  She delivered the stomping soul of “Nothing Like the Water” (my goddess, those harmonies), the ever-seductive “Paris (Ooh La La)”, and finally, the most appropriate song ever played in any venue ever, “Stars”.  Noting the constellations on the ceiling, Grace asked for the lights to come up in the venue and off the stage, joking that everyone knows her face already and doesn’t need to see it anymore.  The ceiling lit up, its lights in the shapes of different constellations, and she sang a song for those who’ve departed the mortal coil.  

Grace Potter & The Daylights are coming to The Anthem in January.  Make sure you catch them light the January sky. In the meantime, you can pick up her latest album, Daylight, here and tickets to the show at The Anthem, here.

All photos copyright and courtesy of Matt Ruppert.