On an extremely hot day, straight out of Hades, concert goers gathered for the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee as they have done for a decade now. With only a thin layer of sun block on for protection, the area in front of the stage was filled up by young people flirting with potential sunburn from hell to see a fantastic band. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals took the stage in the afternoon and shocked everyone who was watching. They were just phenomenal!

From the beginning of rock and roll music, bands have made wonderful musical creations for the world to hear. They leave their stamp of art work out for everyone to experience. With Potter's recent top ten hit "Paris (Ooh La La)" it is quite apparent that they are really going to mark the world as their territory. As time slips by, we will find that Grace Potter & The Nocturnals have a lot to offer the music appreciators of the world. They absolutely rocked the hell out of Bonnaroo.

The confident Potter is a multi instrumentalist and showed off her talent through the set list despite the unbearable heat. The group of five musicians is one of the most talented groups of the day and it doesn't appear that they will be going away for a very long time. As they work in the footsteps of artists like the Kinks and James Brown, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals musical career will be something to watch as they rise to the top. They have had an incredible start and they really should be watched closely to see what tomorrow brings.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals have played Bonnaroo several times before. They have been playing the fest consistently for a few years now. The charge of energy that comes from this band as they perform live is amazing. They have power like the Stones and know how to add in some melodic moments that may somewhat resemble a Pink Floyd style. Everything blends together among the technical guitars, thumping bass, and rumbling drums. With the talented eye candy of Grace Potter at the helm, this band is going to be just huge.

The band waved and said goodbye at the end of their set and left the audience pleased with a fantastic show. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals entertained the crowd with some good quality music. While they wowed the audience, all of their hard work could be heard within their music. It was quite clear that this group has been influenced by all the cool musicians of the 60's and 70's. Whoever they were inspired by originally, it melts down into a real good group. The mix of the musicians in this band and their influences makes this a group that would be very hard to contend with in skill and over all coolness. This group is definitely going to be leaving a lasting impression for rock bands to come.

Unfortunately, with all the heat that was present in Manchester, it was really hard to enjoy the incredible display of talent that was unfolding right before your eyes. Music fans bobbed their heads as they wiped the sweat from their brow. They were drinking anything and everything in an attempt to beat the Tennessee heat and they were losing. With temperatures in the upper nineties, it was almost impossible to enjoy anything while baking in an oven. This group would have been great to see in a cool, air conditioned environment.

After the festival was over, the rumors of a rough crowd came out. Allegations of thefts happened throughout the camp grounds. As the concert goers enjoyed the music, thieves lurked around camp sites. The happy concert goers came back to their sites only to feel violated. Over the course of the four day music festival, apparently a few bad apples helped to spoil the bunch. Very sad and heartfelt reports came out that a young lady was raped during the event. It does appear that this festival that is being referred to as a “mini Woodstock” was not all rainbows and puppy dogs.

Teenagers were running around drinking Red Bull and Monster energy drinks, as they passed their joints acting a fool. Under a tent a young man smokes a pipe of opium as two girls sit next to him holding a baby as they smoke marijuana. All sorts of drug paraphernalia was on sale at the fest promoting the use of drugs to the crowd. Skimpy clothing was a way to keep cool, but some Bonnarroo attendees chose a much freer clothing option, nothing.

Within the mix of musical acts comes a very wide demographic that was attending this show. Racist statements were made about having an artist like Little Wayne playing the same show with bands like Buffalo Springfield. Comments about “Wiggers” and “Niggers” made for a stressful time for some and were completely unnecessary.

Tickets for the 2012 Bonnarroo festival are on sale now, but there are a lot of things to consider before making a purchase. There is a huge potential for the entire weekend next year to be a gigantic heat wave as it was this year. There is a chance that concert goers could be involved in a violent crime. If you are at all worried about the heat or you are just too old and civilized, this may not be the show for you. If you do miss it, you could be foregoing a chance to see someone who is just a musical superstar like Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. They’ll leave you singing “Ooh La La La La La La La.”  

The Nocturnals

Matt Burr - Drums

Scott Tournet – Guitar, Harmonica

Catherine Popper – Bass, Vocals

Benny Yurco - Guitar, vox