Relix > Issues

December

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals: Savage Dreamers

When Grace Potter & The Nocturnals came together a decade ago, some early fans might have predicted that they’d be big, but no one could have called just how this group of St. Lawrence University students reached the mainstream. After road-dogging their way through festival gigs and jamband clubs, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals eventually inked a major label deal and received airplay from outlets like VH1. But it was a chance encounter with country superstar Kenny Chesney that turned Potter and her band into one of the year’s success stories. Executive Editor Dean Budnick spent time on the road with The Nocturnals late this summer and found out how a group of Phish-loving Vermonters became part of the biggest country music event in New England history.

Bettye LaVette: Hunger Games

Bettye LaVette’s late-career renaissance has been one of the past decade’s most deserved success stories. But even through the Detroit-native has come a long way from the little girl rolling her stomach in time to the music and singing her lungs out while standing on top of the jukebox in the living room, LaVette’s life hasn’t exactly been a Cinderella story. As Holly Gleason finds out, LaVette waited nearly 50 years to truly get her due, picking up countless tales of sex, drugs and soul music along the way.

Will the Real Citizen Cope Please Stand Up?

Notoriously press-adverse, we got a chance to sit down with Clarence Greenwood at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. shortly after the release of his latest album, One Fine Day. Though it’s his fifth release under the name Citizen Cope, it marks only the second album released under his own RainWater Recordings. Robin A. Rothman learns of Cope’s major labels woes, his years spent making money as a ticket scalper and how he finally took control of his career.

Gary Clark Jr.: When My Train Pulls In

For the past few years, Austin, Texas-based guitarist Gary Clark Jr. has helped keep the blues alive through his high-energy club shows and constant festival performances. In fact, Clark has been so ubiquitous on the live music circuit that it’s easy to forget that his debut album Blak And Blu only came out this fall. In many ways, Blak And Blu is Clark’s true coming out party: a mix of scorching blues jams, tight songcraft and studio wizardry reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stuart Thornton caught up with Clark on the eve of his new album’s release and explains how the 28 year old came to symbolize 21st century blues.

Plus: Phil Lesh, Jake Shimabukuro, Nicki Bluhm, Freelance Whales, Pinback, Rupa & The April Fishes, Rickie Lee Jones and much more!

Want to read more? There are three ways to get the goods:

1) Pick up a copy of the December issue of Relix magazine with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on the cover at a newsstand near you

2) Subscribe to Relix by clicking HERE

3) Buy the December issue by clicking HERE