Photo: Grace Potter
Grace Potter opted to steer away from a word of advice she received at age 19 to ultimately deliver an “audacious and heart-pounding map of the soul” via her upcoming fifth studio LP. Mother Road is slated to see the genre-blending artist “deconstructing her deepest fears and darkest regrets,” reads a press release announcing the project on Wednesday morning (May 10), “charting the fallout with brutal honesty and emotional daring.”
Potter marked the album announcement with the release of her new single, title track “Mother Road,” and its accompanying Pulp Fiction- and Thelma and Louise-styled music video. She wrote the whole project over the course of two years, driving cross-country, back and forth during the pandemic. The 10-track project includes:
- Mother Road
- Truck Stop Angels
- Ready Set Go
- Good Time
- Little Hitchhiker
- Lady Vagabond
- Rose Colored Rearview
- All My Ghosts
- Futureland
- Masterpiece
“In Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck called Route 66 the ‘The Mother of all roads...the road of flight,’” Potter said of the meaning behind Mother Road. “As I zeroed out my odometer and started west on my road trip across the US, I hoped that driving the road of flight would give me a bird’s eye view of my life. But it didn’t take long to realize that I was not flying; I was running away. In the solitude, I found myself smashing open the piggy bank of deeply-buried memories. Those gems of my real-life exploits spilled into my creative consciousness and emboldened me to write an album that reaches far beyond what actually happened–launching me down the alternate-reality roads of what could have happened.”
Potter’s forthcoming album, produced by Eric Valentine, features influences spanning rock, country, pop and folk elements as the singer-songwriter embarks on her cross-country journey. Mother Road — bearing artwork photographed and designed by Potter, who promises “the ride of a lifetime” — is slated to release on August 18. Find “Mother Road” on iHeartRadio here, and see Potter’s upcoming tour dates below.
May 11 - Greensboro, NC - Piedmont Hall w/Jaime Wyatt
May 12 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues Myrtle Beach w/Jaime Wyatt
May 13 - Spartanburg, SC - The Hall at Spartanburg Memorial w/Devon Gilfillian
May 17 - Isle of Palms - SC - The Windjammer’s NURTRL Beach Stage w/Devon Gilfillian
May 18 - Isle of Palms - SC - The Windjammer’s NURTRL Beach Stage w/Devon Gilfillian
May 19 - Savannah, GA - District Live w/Devon Gilfillian
May 20 - Beaufort, NC - Beaufort Music Festival
May 21 - Knoxville, TN - Southern Skies Music Festival
Jun 8 - Fort Collins, CO - Washington’s
Jun 9 - Fort Collins, CO - Washington’s
Jun 10 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks (supporting Big Head Todd and the Monsters)
Jun 11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Jun 13 - Minneapolis, MN - Sparkyard Sound Series
Jun 24 - Winter Park, CO - Blues From The Top Music Festival
Aug 12 - Beech Mountain, NC - Beech Mountain Resort
Sep 1- Snowmass, CO - Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Sep 15 - Shelburne, VT - Shelburne Museum
Sep 16 - Shelburne, VT - Shelburne Museum
Oct 1 - Ocean City, MD - Oceans Calling Festival
Mar 18 - 22, 2024 - Miami, FL to Cozumel, MX - Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea