Vermont-based roots rockers Grace Potter [ tickets ] and the Nocturnals are fueling their buzz with a slate of US club, theater and festival performances through spring.

The band, led by 24-year-old singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Grace Potter, continues the trek Thursday (2/14) in Roanoke, VA, and hangs around the Midwest and East Coast through mid-March, including a gig at Florida's Langerado Music Festival. A few shows are already sold out, according to the group's website.

Potter and the Nocturnals also have Scottsdale, AZ's McDowell Mountain Music Festival on the calendar for April and Hunter Mountain, NY's Mountain Jam Festival in May-June. The full itinerary is listed below.

Potter and her bandmates--guitarist Scott Tournet, bassist Bryan Dondero and drummer Matt Burr--are supporting their debut Hollywood Records release, "This Is Somewhere," which surfaced last August and snagged the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

The album showcases the band's wide array of influences--from vintage rock and roll to blues to funk, soul, jazz, country and pop--as well as Potter's prowess on the Hammond B3 organ and guitar. The sound has prompted comparisons to Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams and Nora Jones, among others. A few songs from "This Is Somewhere" are streaming at Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' MySpace page.

The group, which formed in 2002, has made a name for itself through grassroots touring and self-released albums on its own Ragged Company label. Its intense live performance was recognized in 2006 with a Jammy Award for Best New Groove.

Potter and the Nocturnals broke through to mainstream audiences last summer with television appearances including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Good Morning America."