Grace Potter Enjoys a Breakthrough Year
Burlington, Vermont - Last June Grace Potter and the nocturnals released their third album, and took off.
"This has definitely been a breakthrough year. I think the band and myself have sort of found our footing in the music industry," said Potter.
Potter is back in Vermont after a tour that took the band from coast to coast.
"The second I get home my shoes are off, there's a frisbee in hand. We're dumping in the river. We're raking leaves. We're doing everything we can just to get back to normal," said Potter.
After playing in sold out venues, the band is playing their own festival, Grand Point North, at the Burlington waterfront this weekend.
While this was a dream of hers for years, Potter says they were prepared for a break out year.
"It doesn't feel sudden at all. It feels well earned and it feels like all of us as a band and me as a human begin develop and become the people that we're going to become before all this happened," said Potter.
Besides the rock band, Potter has taken an interest in movies.
Appearing in the sound tracks for Alice in Wonderland, and Tangled.
"I think that Disney needs great songs for a lot of their movies. Great original songs and I take great joy in reading a script and popping out a song," said Potter.
Potter says the group is working on their fourth album.
"It's definitely just a tiny little baby. It's not anything cooking in the big way yet, but it will be," said Potter.
But at least this big year has helped her in more ways than one.
"I can actually pay rent, which is amazing," said Potter!
The Grand Point North festival is going on right now on Burlington's waterfront. Potter says she plans to write her new album this fall and hopes to have it out by this spring.
Lake Champlain Maritime Festival Kicks Off
Burlington, Vermont - The Lake Champlain Maritime Festival kicked off on Thursday in Burlington.
The festival is four days of activities, music and food on the Burlington waterfront.
A little rock from O.A.R. kicked off the festival. Die-hard fans were excited the band was finally back in Burlington.
"We played at Okemo and Mount Sunapee. We play all over New England. But this is the first we have been back in Burlington proper in a few years," says Chris Culos, O.A.R. drummer.
Before band members picked up an instrument, they signed a CD and poster. They are part of an auction that will help people fighting the neurological disease ALS known as Lou Gehrig's disease .
"There is no cure," says Deb Wehrlin, who was helping the auction.
Wehrlin says last year the auction raised $3,000. She says half goes to ALS groups and the other half goes to Jim's House.
"Which is a local group that has ALS support group and also will allow people that are coming to Burlington to the neurology department for doctor's appointments to stay at no charge," says Wehrlin.
Speaking of no charge, there are a ton of free activities at this year's festival.
"The Maritime Fest was created to celebrate the waterfront," says festival spokeswoman Tara Perkins.
Perkins says there are a bunch of new events this year. She expects up to 40,000 people to check out all the activities here during the festival's four days.
"it is getting bigger and it is getting better," says Perkins.
Organizers say they are expecting big crowds with good weather predicted for the next few days.
But the draw for so many people is the concerts. Thursday was O.A.R. and we caught up with some of the band members before their show.
Near the end of a busy summer of touring, Chris Culos and Richard On from O.A.R. say they are excited to be in Vermont and Burlington.
"We played at Okemo and Mount Sunapee. We play all over New England. But this is the first we have been back in Burlington proper in a few years," says Culos.
"This time we get the view. We get to see the lake because we are facing the water. So this is great," says On.
They are busy promoting a new album called "King" which they say has a big hip-hop influence.
"We have been working on that for a year and a half and we finally put it out," says Culos.
"It's a good collection of old O.A.R. type of reggae stuff but there are also some great radio pop songs. I think it's a record for everybody," says On.
