For more than 20 years, Grace Potter has been a defining force in 21st century rock n’ roll. 

With her powerful voice, evocative songwriting, take-no-prisoners stage presence, and the studio production of her husband, Eric Valentine, she’s back with a rollicking concept album about a life in transit, Mother Road.

“It’s more of a life project than an album,” she said in a phone interview with Whatzup. “And I think it’s far from over.”

You can hear where she is at this point in the life project when she and her band, which includes Fort Wayne native Jordan West on drums, stop by The Clyde Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 9, with support from Eddie 9V.

Playing a role

Mother Road, where one song spills into another, is an imaginary travelogue down legendary Route 66 across America, where she inhabits the roles of women on the road. 

“It’s almost like a new artist name that I’ve taken on, because there’s so many versions of me and there’s only one life in which to appreciate and sort of compel myself forward,” Potter said. “But I feel like a lot of different people a lot of the time, and I think that’s what makes the songs feel luscious.”

It’s an escapist fantasy and rollicking riot. 

“It’s almost like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (from Alice in Wonderland), and I’m inviting everybody to that table with me, because I think we all have those sort of secret longings and passions and places that we wish we could have gone or would’ve gone,” she said. “I’ll go there, and I’ll take you there with me. Even if it’s just for the show that night, you’ll get a wild ride.”

Banding together

Potter and Valentine recorded the album in Nashville, Tennessee’s historic RCA Studio A, with a number of musicians she’s worked with for years. Now she’s taking Mother Road out with a new band and is excited to share their talents.

“This is a really exciting collection of people,” she said. “There’s my road dog, Kurtis Keber, on bass. I’ve also got two amazing new guitarists. 

“Indya Bratton is only 21 years old,” she said of her guitarist. “I found her on Instagram. I really love her style. I thought, ‘This is a very interesting person with tastes that come from all walks of life and all different eras.’ 

“Seeing that in such a young person really reminded me of what got me into music to begin with, which was just this kind of timeless old soul and a yearning and a curiosity for things that come from elsewhere. She’s a vintage spirit in a 21-year-old body.”

Guitarist Ricky Dover Jr. is filling in for Potter’s longtime guitarist Charlie Shea, who is taking time to be with his wife as they have their first child. 

“Ricky is an amazing talent and somebody that I’ve been watching for a long time and I’ve been wanting to play with,” Potter said.

But for the crowd at The Clyde, maybe the main attraction to the show is the lady on the platform behind Potter, Fort Wayne native drummer/singer Jordan West.

“We speak deeply and often about where she comes from and what it means to be a part of that community,” said Potter of West and Fort Wayne.

“Last time we came through, we played and we were all deathly sick,” she said of the February 2020 show in Indianapolis. “We probably had COVID, but we didn’t know what it was at the time. But her whole family came, and it was the most incredible collection of screaming whooping peanut gallery. It was like we were at a football game. There was so much yelling and awesome cheering, and it just brought the energy of the audience up in this way. 

“I was like, ‘Oh, now I get where she gets her energy. Now I get why she is the way she is.’ This is what comes out of Fort Wayne, and I love it! 

“Local folks who know her are going to be delighted to see her. Local folks who don’t know her are going to get the pleasure of watching one of the world’s finest drummers doing what she does, but also knowing that they’re rooting for a hometown girl.”

Homecoming

I got in touch with West by phone from her home in Los Angeles, and she told me about her journey. 

“When I was growing up in Fort Wayne, there was a huge emphasis on the arts,” she said. “I didn’t really realize how unique that was. I’m grateful for it.”

West attended Weisser Park Elementary School and Memorial Park Middle School, both arts magnet programs. 

“My first instrument was piano, but then when I was 11, I chose the drums,” she said. “At Memorial Park I spent a lot of time learning jazz.

“And then I went to college at Ball State and I was in all the ensembles there. I started my own band (Trackless). We gigged a lot around Indiana and pretty much anywhere in the Midwest.”

Back in Fort Wayne working at Sweetwater, she met famous producer Bob Clearmountain, who was in town for GearFest, following a gig at The Brass Rail. He encouraged her to move to Los Angeles in 2015 and ultimately introduced her to Potter.

West lives for the road and tours not only with Potter, but also records and tours with independent country music singer Cam out of Nashville, Tennessee.

Despite her time away from the Summit City, West visits her large family often. 

“My mom is a principal in Fort Wayne Community Schools,” West said. “My brother Izak West is also a musician. He also works for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as the director of operations.

“It’s really nice to have a community that is so centered in arts and supportive of live music, even though it’s not a massive city. I feel like people care a lot more about what’s going on.”

She speaks with glowing enthusiasm about the chance to play for the hometown crowd again.

If you can’t get a ticket to the show, you can blame both of West’s grandmothers, who have apparently bought out huge blocks of seats for all their kinfolk.

“It’s a big show,” said Potter, the ringmaster. “It’s a big old rock n’ roll experience and I really enjoy it. 

“I think Fort Wayne is one of those towns where rock n’ roll never died. I love it.”