Sarah Potenza & The Tall Boys

Sarah Potenza
& The Tall Boys
(AKA Sarah & The Tall Boys)
Specializing in original
country/soul, Sarah Potenza &
The Tall Boys is a Nashvillebased Americana band.
"Had Bonnie Raitt and Johnny Cash Shared DNA, the results would produce Sarah
Potenza" - Kansas City Blues Society
In 2008, Sarah Potenza & The Tall Boys released their debut album, "Shiny & New", a powerful
collection of original songs that drew attention from venues and festival producers nationwide.
Within that year, the band was performing at festivals and sharing bills with acts like Joss Stone,
Bonnie Raitt and the legendary Stevie Wonder. In 2010, the group released its second full-length
album, "A Lifetime Worth of Sin". A collection of Americana music, derived from blues,
bluegrass, and alternative-country, all songs were written and produced by Sarah and the band,
with the exception of one cover of Lucinda Williams. This CD features a talented list of notable
guest musicians from such groups as The Hen House Prowlers, The Hoyle Brothers, and The
Congregation. To capture a
warmer and more authentic
sound, the entire album was
recorded on two inch
analogue tape with a Studer
track tape machine at Strobe
Recording Studio in Humbolt
Park, Chicago.
Since the release of "A
Lifetime Worth of Sin", the album has reached #17 on the Freeform American Roots Radio
Charts. Sarah & The Tall Boys have been touring nationally, playing an average of over 200
shows a year. Nate Dow of the Boston Herald, remarks, "It has been said that Lucinda Williams
can blow the chrome off her streamline trailer. If that's true, Potenza can blow the trailer right
out of the lot."
Sarah Potenza & The Tall Boys have played both for inmates at both the Cook Country
Department of Corrections and make multiple appearances at large, national outdoor festivals
and legendary venues. Last summer the group was invited to perform on the main stage at the
annual Rhythm & Roots Festival at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, RI with world-renowned
musicians Steve Earle, Delbert McClinton, and Richard Thompson. Producer Chuck Wentworth
says of the band, “for two years in a row, Sarah has sold more CDs at the festival than any
other artist by a factor of three to one, and I understand did the same at Strawberry Fest. This
band is a huge crowd favorite and brings all the energy and talent to the festival main stage
that it ever needs.”
This year Sarah Potenza & the Tall Boys were invited
back to the Rhythm & Roots Festival, Grey Fox
Festival and for a second performance this year at the
Strawberry Music Festival in California where they’ve
performed with Alison Krauss and Robert Earl Keen.
They are the only band to ever perform all 4 stages at
the Strawberry Festival.
Sarah Potenza & the Tall Boys have played at
• Strawberry Music Festival in Camp Mather, CA
• Rhythm & Roots Festival in Charlestown, RI
• Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Oak Hill, NY
• Old Town School of Folk Music's Festival in Chicago, IL
• The Continental Club in Austin, TX
• Rodeo Bar in New York City
• Knuckleads in Kansas City, MO
• Zoo Bar in Lincoln, NE
• Chickie Wah Wah in New Orleans, LA
• Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa, CA
Sarah Shares the Stage with
Sarah Potenza & the Tall Boys have shared bills with Stevie
Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert Mclinton, Steve Earle, Richard
Thompson, Marcia Ball, Raul Malo, 7 Walkers, Steve Riley &
the Mamou Playboys, Alejandro Escovedo, Whitey Morgan &
the 78's, Junior Brown, David Alvin, Preservation Hall Jazz
Band, Reckless Kelly, Tab Benoit, Susan Cowsill, Alison
Krauss, Jerry Douglas, and Robert Earl Keen, Joan Osborne,
Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Band, David Bromberg Big
Band, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Donna the Buffalo, Blackie &
the Rodeo Kings, Hot Rize, Del McCoury Band, Davis Grisman,
Infamous String Dusters, Punch Brothers, SteelDrivers, Dale
Watson, and many, many more.
Discography
Shiny & New 2008
A Lifetime Worth of Sin 2010
Live in Chicago 2011
Press Quotes & Reviews
"This woman can belt out zesty country two steps and downshift to searing, smoky ballads, throw in a
few split register notes at the end of her phrasing, reminiscent of Susan Tedeschi or Janis Joplin, but you
don’t think of anyone else but Sarah when she’s on stage.
She sings with a raw gutty conviction that resonates between your heart and your hips. Nothing filters the
immediacy of her delivery.That gravelly voice sings of lust, heartbreak and hell-raising in the tradition of
Janis Joplin. When she finishes a song, you cheer and wait for the next one you're pretty sure will barrel
from the stage with the hypnotic sway, rumble and roar of a freight train.” - pt at large
"Sarah and The Tall Boys, featuring lead singer Sarah Potenza, a Smithfield native, levitated the
workshop tent with Potenza’s huge voice shining through honky-tonk tunes such as “Put On That
Record,” putting on some grit for the blues of “Texas,” and smoldering through a cover of Tom T. Hall’s
“How I Got to Memphis,” which drew a standing ovation and an encore. " - Providence Journal
"Led by wild-at-heart country singer Sarah Potenza-Crossman, the band likes its country straight -- no
amateurish punk chasers, no gimmicky fashion statements, no worn-out barroom clichés. For this Live at
KDHX session, Sarah & the Tall Boys kick off with "Put On That Record," a gritty slice of contemporary
honky tonk, then follow up with the Waylon-esque strut of "Life I Chose" and the betrayed isolation of
"Shadow of a Doubt," sung with scratchy realism by Sarah. Finally, the band rips into "Last Two Dollars,"
and then they're off, ready to hit the lonesome highway again." - KDHX radio
"Sarah Potenza and the Tall Boys are such a unique and dynamic force, it’s hard to fathom how they
haven’t taken just Chicago but also Nashville, Memphis and Austin by storm. Potenza and her soaring
voice are at home in any of the musical genres favored by those famous cities. And if it is true, as
Emmylou Harris once famously said, that Lucinda Williams could sing the chrome right off a trailer hitch,
here’s betting that Potenza could belt it clear off the Airstream attached to it. The group’s latest album is
proof that Sarah and the boys mightily beg to be heard. “A Lifetime Worth of Sin” is clearly worth
the consequences. – Boston Herald
“Sarah & The Tall Boys is a huge crowd favorite and brings all the energy and talent to the
festival main stage that it ever needs.” - Rhythm & Roots Producer
For Festival Booking, Contact:
Band Contact:
Chuck Wentworth
Lagniappe Productions
www.mardigrasri.com
51 White Oak Court
Wakefield, RI 02879
e-mail: chukwent@cox.net
401-783-3926
Sarah Potenza Crossman
Sarah & the Tall Boys
www.sarahandthetallboys.com
www.youtube.com/sarahandthetallboys
sarah@sarahandthetallboys.com
773-724-0399
AUDIO/VIDEO/PRESS KIT:
www.mardigrasri.com