Grace Potter
Saturday, May 20th @ 9:00pm
Described by Spin as “one of the greatest living voices in rock today,” Grace Potter has not only played every major music festival from Coachella and Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo and Rock in Rio, she’s created her own thriving music festival, Burlington, VT’s Grand Point North. Additionally, she’s shared a stage with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, the Allman Brothers, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Mavis Staples, and The Roots to name just a few. A three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist (two for 2019’s Daylight, one for her multiplatinum duet with Kenny Chesney, “You & Tequila”), Potter has also collaborated with the Flaming Lips for a Tim Burton film, and written and produced music for film and TV, including Disney’s animated feature Tangled and the ABC animated holiday special Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.
In October 2019, Grace released Daylight, her second solo LP and first for Fantasy Records. Daylight arrives after a turbulent, life-altering 4-year hiatus from music that had the acclaimed singer-songwriter contemplating whether she would ever record another album. Cathartic and emotionally raw, Daylight is the result of that arduous journey, the most emotionally revealing, musically daring work of her career.
“I’ve always aimed to write songs from a universal perspective; so that anyone who heard my music could relate, but that actually made it harder for me to take ownership of my own perspective. These songs were written so I could process – and be accountable for – my own life experience,” Potter says. “I had just pulled the ripcord on my whole life. It was an incredibly jarring, private experience. When the dust settled a bit, the last thing I wanted to do was tell the whole world about it through song. It was a very gradual process of re-framing music and its purpose in my life. So, when I finally started writing songs again – it had to be for myself and myself alone.”
Produced by her husband Eric Valentine, Daylight took shape in the Topanga Canyon home they’d recently settled into. Unsigned and entirely free of any pressure to appease, Potter slowly carved out ideas and the two began laying down tracks. Moving to Valentine’s Hollywood studio, Barefoot Recording, the songs came to life with the help of longtime Potter collaborators including guitarist Benny Yurco and drummer Matt Musty, friends Benmont Tench and Larry Goldings on keys, and supreme vocalists, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of the indie band Lucius.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Saturday, May 20th @ 7:05pm
In 2023, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe celebrate their 25th anniversary as a band.
KDTU has electrified audiences around the world from the fields of Naeba in Japan at the infamous Fuji Rock Festival to the hallowed stage of Madison Square Garden where they previously joined the Dave Matthews Band and The Godfather of Soul, James Brown. From performing as Sexual Chocolate (Karl was in the original band in the movie Coming To America and its sequel) at the Outside Lands Music festival in San Francisco, to being the first late night act at the inaugural Bonnaroo festival, KDTU have been a dominating force in music for the past 25 years.
All-night, sold-out concerts during Jazzfest in New Orleans have featured sit ins by everyone from Lenny Kravitz & Steve Winwood (with whom Karl has recorded and toured) to avant garde luminaries Marc Ribot & Boyfriend. Chuck Leavell and Bernard Fowler (Karl’s bandmates in The Rolling Stones where Karl replaced the great Bobby Keys as saxophonist in 2014) have joined onstage and on record, as have Lukas Nelson, John Oates, Michael Franti, Warren Haynes, Ivan Neville, Anders Osborne, Big Daddy Kane, Roy Hargrove, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Joshua Redman, Marcus King, and Bernie Worrell, among others.
Touring the country with the Allman Brothers, My Morning Jacket, D’Angelo, The Roots, Public Enemy, Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, Parliament Funkadelic, Slightly Stoopid, Widespread Panic, very few concert goers have been untouched by the Tiny Universe live. In addition to KDTU, Karl Denson aka “Diesel” is a founding member of the seminal groove act The Greyboy Allstars.
Andy Frasco & the U.N.
Friday, May 19th @ 9:20pm
For better or worse, Andy Frasco has been married to the music industry since before he could grow facial hair. At just sixteen, Frasco worked for labels like Drive-Thru Records and Capitol, booking nationwide tours for his pop-punk heroes and wheeling and dealing on calls he’d take on the sly during lunch. He’s been on road since he was 19 with his band Andy Frasco & the U.N., played over 250 shows per year for more than decade, lived on bad bar food, and slept in vans, and now, after more than a decade on the musical grind, he’s finally finding himself.
The culmination of those efforts is Wash, Rinse, Repeat, which drops April 8th via his own label, Fun Machine Records. “This was my chance to learn my craft and fall in love with songwriting again,” he says. “This is me. This is how I feel. I’m not trying to write songs for other people anymore. I’m just trying to write songs that help me. And hopefully through that, help others, too.”
Written across the country with members of Dashboard Confessional, 3oh!3, Doom Flamingo, AWOLnation, and more, the record is a portrait of Frasco as a musician — and a man. Dealing with everything from addiction (“Spill the Beans”) to breaking old romantic habits (“Grow Old”) to fighting through the bad days to find the good (“Puff Break (Believe That)”), Wash, Rinse, Repeat stands as Frasco’s most complete, mature effort yet. With Bonnaroo and touring on the horizon, Frasco is ready for people to stop thinking of him as a party-boy frontman with a yen for stage-diving and to listen to his words.
John “Papa” Gros
Friday, May 19th @ 7:40pm
“Sharing New Orleans with the world is my calling,” says pianist and organist John “Papa” Gros (pronounced grow).“That’s what I have been doing and that’s what I’ll do with the rest of my life.”
For over three decades, Gros has brought his city’s celebratory culture to listeners around the globe. Gros mixes all the sounds of New Orleans – funk, trad jazz, brass band, blues – and makes it his own signature gumbo. His new solo album Central City, shows Gros capturing New Orleans’ distinct feel-good charm with help from some of its’ most renowned players.
Gros began playing gigs when he was just fifteen years old but didn’t truly kick off his career until after graduating from Loyola in 1989 with a degree in French Horn performance. During the seminal years that followed, the young man cut his teeth as a solo performer on Bourbon Street while also developing a reputation as a formidable sideman. He backed up some of the biggest names in the Crescent City,: such as Meters bassist George Porter Jr. and guitarist Snooks Eaglin. Between 2000 and 2013, Gros began his transition into the spotlight by leading Papa Grows Funk, a highly revered group that mixed hard-hitting funk grooves with often unpredictable jazz spontaneity. The band released six critically-acclaimed studio albums while touring the U.S. and far off countries like Japan and Brazil.
This year, John “Papa” Gros released Central City, his third solo album. The album is a collection of classic New Orleans songs, both new and old, filtered through his decades of dedication to his craft. The album features Gros’ feel good originals alongside his takes on beloved songs by Allen Toussaint, Lloyd Price, and John Prine. Joining Gros on the album are a who’s who in the keepers of the New Orleans tradition, who perfectly exploit the similarities between New Orleans jazz and early rock ‘n’ roll on songs such as “Yeah Yeah Yeah” and “Personality.”
Gros absorbed a lifetime of lessons and became part of the direct lineage of New Orleans music. “I’m walking in the same path as Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, and Art Neville,” explains Gros. “I’ve been following them my whole life. Now, they’re no longer in front of me. They’ve gotten off the path but the path is still very clear.”
Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels
Saturday, May 20th @ 3:45pm
Sam Burchfield’s latest record ‘Scoundrel’ begins a new saga. The record dives into 11 tales of greed, betrayal, desire, heartache, despair- and redemption. “We recorded these songs on my friend’s farm in South Georgia, tracking live in the same room. It felt right,” Sam recalls of the pre-pandemic recording sessions. “It’s nice to finally have this record out. It’s sort of a marker of a new chapter for me. A new sound, a new direction, and a return to my roots really.” Ironically, the album artwork is an early 1900s photo of ‘Sam Burchfield, a veteran moonshiner of the Appalachians.’ A very distant Great-uncle, Burchfield claims.
Sam grew up in Seneca, South Carolina, with roots in eastern Tennessee and western Carolina. Burchfield was raised on the mountains, and it’s an evident theme throughout his two EPs and two full length records. Reconnecting to the earth, and reconnecting to each other is the underlying passion that pushes the young songwriter to carry on. Sam is now settled in Jasper, GA with his lovely wife (artist Pip the Pansy) and newborn son.
Catch Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels (aptly named) on tour in a city near you.
Saxsquatch
Friday, May 19th @ 6:00pm
Saxsquatch, is an American musician notable for wearing a Bigfoot costume and playing cover versions of popular songs on the saxophone. Mitchell is the former saxophonist for The Marcus King Band.
Tan & Sober Gentlemen
Saturday, May 20th @ 5:25pm
Tan and Sober Gentlemen, an Irish-American hillbilly band from North Carolina, aims to explore the Irish roots of the Carolinas’ traditional music (bluegrass, oldtime, etc.), and to play it with as much intensity as possible. Their super high energy live shows have gained them local and regional fame, and they have toured up and down the East Coast, across the South, and far afield as Ireland. They are touring 2023 after the release of their new album, “Regressive Folk Music,” in June. Their debut album, “Veracity,” was named by Shite’n’Onions as one of the six best Celtic punk albums of 2019 and 2020.
Blue Footed Boobies
Saturday, May 20th @ 2:20pm
Guitar/vocalist, Logan Chaucer and drummer, Sam Baker captivate crowds with their energetic stage theatrics, powerful licks, and thunderous drums. The two-piece delivers a range of sounds reminiscent of the 60’s greatest, such as Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin as well as modern contemporary rock bands like The Black Keys with their blues/psych portfolio. Chemistry and soul are the magic ingredients that are propelling The Boobies forward at a rapid rate giving them noticeable recognition from audiences and booking agents throughout the Southeast. The Blue Footed Boobies have played with The Nude Party, Blues Traveler, Funk You, Stop Light Observations, ASG, The Fritz, Hannah Wicklund and The Stepping Stones, Peoples Blues of Richmond, Arson Daily and more..
The Boobies concerts aren’t just a “listening experience”, they are a “must see live” performance. Their sell out shows of 850+ people and festival turnouts of 2,000+ are evidence of that claim. And after all, who doesn’t like boobies?
The Green Room
Saturday, May 20th @ 1:10pm
We are Brandon, Matt, Michael and James and together we form The Green Room. We are eastern NC born & bred and lifelong friends. We grew up surfing, skateboarding and playing music together. We have been blessed to grow up here on the east coast and enjoy all that living next to the ocean has to offer. Above all else though, we would all agree that playing music is our “first language” and we all share an undeniable connection to music. This friendship and brotherhood ultimately led to the creation of the band. While we have enjoyed playing covers at our live events, our biggest passion is writing and playing our own music – being creative with new melodies, developing our own unique sound and, always, bringing good vibes.
Harvey Street Co.
Saturday, May 20th @ 12:00pm
Formed in the summer of 2021, Harvey Street Collective has quickly become a staple in the Raleigh music scene. Through original songs that have become local favorites such as “Irish Goodbye” and “Betty”, as well as a handful of sold out shows playing with the likes of The Futurebirds, The Stews, and many more, they have created a sound that resonates with music goers all over the state. With more original songs set to be released in the coming months, Harvey Street Co is looking to further expand on the already growing discography and fan base that they’ve been developing over the past 2 years.
Brooke & Nick
Friday, May 19th @ 5:00pm
Brooke & Nick’s music is truly a unique & fresh combo. Their sound brings a dynamic fusion of folk/rock with an edgy twist of roots revival. Brooke plays cello, almost bridging bass & violin with how she plays, while harmonizing alongside Nick’s spirited voice and bigger-than-life baritone uke & foot percussion.
Their style offers a large and compelling sound that easily pulls listeners in with their heartfelt harmonies. Nick’s voice & tunes offer a special experience as his customized foot percussion almost generates that heartbeat that drives their act, while Brooke holds ground playing bass & soloing on the sweet end.
They both grew up immersed in music, yet hail from very different backgrounds:
Nick grew up playing mandolin with a folk inspired youth playing out regularly with friends. Brooke grew up on the other side of things; trained as a classic pianist and a choir singer, who was also on stage at a young age.
The couple’s music mirrors the depth and magnetism of their many years together; they met years ago on the little island of Ocracoke, NC in the fall of 2010. They quickly became an item as they dabbled in a band together. However, it took several years for their musical backgrounds to mesh and come together as one. It wasn’t until the summer of 2016 that they began to perform as a sole duo act in the Ocrafolk Opry, and the rest is history.
Since then, their sound has slowly, yet surely, gained momentum across North Carolina. They’ve played at numerous listening rooms, venues, weddings, Ocrafolk Festival & now Beaufort Music Festival.
MC J. Sales
