Blues queen to rock Treehouse stage

By Luciano Marano • October 10, 2017 7:30 am
Photo courtesy of the Treehouse Café | Sarah Potenza - who Rolling Stone described as being “to the blues what Adele is to pop” - will perform a special 21-and-older, one-night-only concert at the Treehouse Café at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.
Photo courtesy of the Treehouse Café | Sarah Potenza - who Rolling Stone described as being “to the blues what Adele is to pop” - will perform a special 21-and-older, one-night-only concert at the Treehouse Café at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.

Sarah Potenza — who Rolling Stone described as being “to the blues what Adele is to pop” — will perform a special 21-and-older, one-night-only concert at the Treehouse Café at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.

Tickets, $18 for reserved table seating, are for sale at www.treehousebainbridge.com.

Praised for both her musical and lyrical talents, Potenza’s been described as “a Janis Joplin-Aretha Franklin hybrid with a mic … but a Lucinda Williams-Bonnie Raitt hybrid with a pen.”

After Potenza’s spellbinding blind audition yielded a four-chair turn on NBC’s “The Voice,” a visibly moved Pharrell Williams told her she was “giving this generation something they’ve never seen before,” namely: a colossal-voiced singer who merges her old-school influences with a modernistic sound.

Her new album, “Monster,” solidifies endless Janis Joplin vocal comparisons, but also colors between the lines of Memphis blues, Nashville Americana, New Orleans funk and L.A. punk. Its lyrics are personal and personally therapeutic, as she empowers herself through tunes denouncing industry naysayers and embracing her fuller-figured, boisterous self.

“It’s hard for a size 16, 36-year-old woman,” she said. But Potenza’s come to realize those numbers actually work in her favor. “I’ve never opened a door with my looks. Because I’ve always relied on my personality and my talent, I’ve really flourished and feel strong and confident. I don’t know how to get someone to buy me a drink in a bar, but I’ll sing you a song.”

When she was young, Potenza sang for her family and listened to her parents’ album collection before deciding to pursue singing professionally.

She married fellow musician Ian Crossman. After spending seven years with her band Sarah & The Tall Boys, she relocated to Nashville with not much more than her husband and her vocal skills.

With that, coupled with her honest reflective songwriting, she quickly garnered the attention of the city’s thriving music scene and she became a staple at the world renowned Bluebird Café and the globally broadcast Music City Roots program, as well as guest appearances on Grand Ol’ Opry before landing on Season 8 of NBC’s “The Voice.”