NEWS: SARAH POTENZA “Road To Rome” Album Out Now
SARAH POTENZA, the outspoken and fiercely independent Nashville-based singer-songwriter, and vocal powerhouse has just released her new LP, ‘Road To Rome.’
Known to millions as a semi-finalist on season 8 of The Voice, Sarah has since gone on to release a critically-acclaimed debut solo LP ‘Monster’ in 2016, which prompted Rolling Stone to gush, “Potenza is to the blues what Adele is to pop: a colossal-voiced singer who merges her old-school influences with a modernistic sound.”
Buy/stream ‘Road To Rome’
Signed CDs are available for purchase
Check out this recent profile in Rolling Stone
Sarah’s latest single “Diamond” is currently one of Rolling Stone’s ‘10 Best Country, Americana Songs of the Week‘
‘Road to Rome‘ is an album of self-empowered R&B, swaggering soul, and contemporary blues. Co-written by Potenza, her husband Ian Crossman and friend Justin Wiseman, produced by Jordan Brooke Hamlin (Indigo Girls, Lucy Wainwright Roche), and recorded with a female-heavy cast of collaborators, the record isn’t just her own story. It’s the story of all artists — particularly women, who remain the minority within the male-dominated music industry — who’ve learned to trust their instincts, refusing to let mainstream trends dilute their own artistic statements.
Sarah recently performed alongside acts such as Andrew McMahon and The Wilderness, Matt Nathanson and Plain White T’s on The Rock Boat XIX and will join Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole and many more on The Melissa Etheridge Cruise III March 31-April 7. She is also scheduled to play in Austin, TX during SXSW.
What others saying about Sarah Potenza’s ‘Road To Rome’
“…hard to ignore, even harder to pin down and as kinetic as a neon orange lightning bolt.– Rolling Stone
“The world needs Sarah Potenza’s voice…”- No Depression
“…a loud and proud exultation from the onetime Voice contestant.”- Rolling Stone
“Not only will Potenza’s voice move you. Her words, as irreverent as they are at times, may empower you…”- Glide Magazine
“A feminist battle cry — appropriately released on International Women’s Day. Potenza fuses bluesy vocals and a rock n’ roll attitude to create her most powerful sound to date.”- Popdust
“…“Diamond” is an anthem of self-acceptance and just the sort of song we all need when we’ve lost touch with our own shine.”- Audiofemme
“Sarah Potenza is a one-of-a-kind singer of our time. Watch for her because this talented singer-songwriter is, without question, going places.”-Rock and Blues Muse
“…universal anthems written with inclusivity in mind…brimming with confidence and boasting production that calls to mind the Mark Ronson vibe of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black.'”- Rolling Stone
Upcoming Shows:
SXSW Shows*
*Tue, March 12 – Balcony TV Austin Band Taping (Private event: RSVP here using password ‘BTVSXSW.’ Set time: 4pm
*Wed, March 13 – Pachanga Bandas- Kitty Cohen’s SXSW Set time: 4:15 (full band)
*Wed, March 13 –Midwest Takeover @ Shangri-La- Austin, TX Set time: 7:15-7:45pm
*Thu, March 14 – Sellers Unofficial Showcase Presented by Sound Dessert SXSW @ Sellers Underground (Free and Open to the Public) Set Time 8-8:40pm
*Fri, March 15 – Party In My Pants @ Little Woodrow’s 6th- Austin, TX Set Time: 1:00 – 1:40pm
*Fri, March 15- Rebelle Road Showcase @ Maria’s Tacos Express- Austin, TX Set time: 2:55 – 2:40 pm
*Fri, March 15 – New Nashville Riverboat Party- Austin, TX Set Time: 6:00 boat boarding, sets begin at 7:00pm
Sat, March 16 Opening Bell Coffee- Dallas, TX
Sun, March 17 The Stone Church- Tulsa, OK
Sun, March 31 – Sun April 7- The Melissa Etheridge Cruise
Fri, April 19 House Show – Woodinville, WA
ABOUT SARAH POTENZA’S ‘ROAD TO ROME‘:
Just who is Sarah Potenza? She’s a songwriter. A bold, brassy singer. A businesswoman. A proud, loud-mouthed Italian-American from Providence, Rhode Island, with roots in Nashville and an audience that stretches across the Atlantic.
Filled with messages of self-worth, determination, and drive, Sarah Potenza’s Road to Rome shines new light on the songwriter whose career already includes multiple albums as front-woman of Sarah and the Tall Boys, a game-changing appearance on The Voice, and an acclaimed solo debut titled Monster.
Writing sessions for Road to Rome took place aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean, as well as at her home in East Nashville. It was during the cruise that she first began writing songs with Justin Wiseman, a piano player from Austin, TX. For years, she and her husband, Ian Crossman, had worked together as a duo, splitting their musical duties more or less equally, writing songs with guitar in hand, and merging their very different influences. This was something different, though — something about the piano that allowed Potenza the chance to rediscover her own voice, making an album whose unique approach to soul music was entirely her own. Although Crossman and Wiseman’s contributions as co-writers can be heard throughout Road to Rome’s tracks, the album represents a strong shift in dynamic, with Potenza leading the charge.
When it came time to record Road to Rome at MOXE, Jordan Brooke Hamlin’s Nashville-area studio, Potenza looked to a wide range of musicians for influence. She turned to Whitney Houston. To Lauryn Hill. To Pops Staples, the Dirty Projectors, RL Burnside, Bette Midler, and more. Those artists gave her inspiration not only on a musical level, but on an emotional and thematic level, too. They were artists who spoke with conviction, chasing their own muses into unique, personalized territory. Potenza did the same, turning Road to Rome into an album filled with everything from the torch song balladry of “Earthquake” (a love letter to Crossman, thanking him for years of support ) to the funky fire of “Dickerson and Queen” (where Potenza howls, swoons, and croons over bass grooves and swirling organ, reminding everyone that, “I don’t give a fuck about nothing but the music”). She even makes room for a piano-propelled cover of “Worthy,” originally written by Grammy-nominated icon Mary Gauthier, who personally sent the song to Potenza.
Set for release on International Women’s Day 2019, Road to Rome is the sound of a songwriter taking the wheel and driving toward her own destination. This is Sarah Potenza’s strongest album to date: a battlecry from a soul singer and blues belter, shot through with pop melodies, rock & roll attitude, and absolutely zero f***s.
