It’s a Sunday night at the City Winery’s intimate venue simply called The Lounge. A venue that fuses high-scale dining and live music, The Lounge is the perfect backdrop for the soulful and personal performances by Sarah Potenza and Sarah Peacock. Sarah Potenza is most known for her performances on the hit TV shows The Voice and America’s Got Talent where she wowed audiences with a voice filled with soul and power. Peacock is very similar in vocal style with a booming and beautiful voice that she produces with perfect breath control. It is safe to say audiences were in for a great show.
To begin, both artists took the stage together and did a rendition of a Nashville classic, “Jolene”, by Dolly Parton. This night would be soundtracked only by a guitar and piano, but somehow accomplished a full and complete sound. After hitting Dolly’s high notes with ease, Potenza stepped down from the stage and Peacock’s set began. Peacock’s songs felt familiar yet novel, striking an Americana sound that carried into her beautiful Western imagery in songs like “Mojave”. Potenza came back on stage to join the latter half of her set with a cover of “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper being the standout performance. This cover will be on Peacock’s upcoming EP of what she considers social justice-centric songs written by legacy artists.
When Potenza took the stage with a new backup singer, the audience was quickly taken on a journey into a new sound full of soul and emotion. Potenza’s ballads were full of pride, bravery, and vocal runs that left the audience speechless. “I Work for Me” was a standout track about taking pride in your abilities and it was clear Potenza was feeling every lyric. “Dickerson and Queen” delivered an energetic boost to the set that showed the variety of emotions Potenza could play upon. In honor of the late Sinéad O’Connor, Potenza covered the iconic track “Nothing Compares 2 U” citing O’Connor as one of her favorite artists.
When all thought the show was over, both artists took the stage yet again to perform covers of “Rise Up” by Andra Day and “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers. They encouraged audience interaction and the show ended with a grand expression of music and its ability to unify a room. Overall, this show felt like a love letter to music and emotion. Both artists deserve their flowers and I am sure they will continue to do great in this industry.
- Thomas W. Hagan
