Izzy Potter and Friends Make Musical Magic at the East Room

Photos by Zayne Isom

Nashville is for dreamers; It’s a place for people from all walks of life to bring their dreams and build a sense of community. Last week, in a little hole-in-the-wall venue on the east side of town, Izzy Potter and several other Nashville-based musicians gathered to pour their hearts out on a stage for a crowd of people dancing and singing their way through each set. The energy was high at The East Room, a gorgeous reminder of how music moves us in magical ways. 

Kicking off the night, Connell Cafferty and his band of Belmont musicians performed a set that entranced audience members. His raw and affectionate lyricism pulled the crowd into the type of trance that keeps eyes closed and bodies swaying. It was clear that the audience absorbed his narratives as he sang about relatable topics like broken hearts, first loves and thoughts of wanting more. 

Cafferty’s sound teeters the line between folk and Americana, complete with wailing pedal steel and the classic strum of an acoustic guitar. His band beautifully elevates his lyricism, intertwining storytelling with instrumentation that adds depth and perception. 

Following Cafferty’s opening set, Aubory Bugg blew us away with her soul-filled and devastatingly intimate performance that brought tears to our eyes. Driving eight hours to Nashville all the way from St. Louis for this show, Bugg’s determination paid off as she was greeted by fans who knew her music from social media. 

Bugg started writing music in eighth grade as a creative outlet. Although she describes her earlier moments of writing as mundane due to lack of life experience, she recounts that her music began to gain a personal spark after the pandemic hit. Being a sophomore in high school at the time, she felt isolated from the world around her. She started posting her songs online, and people were incredibly receptive to her relatable stories and the loneliness she felt when the world shut down. 

“I wrote a song called ‘New Phone’ my senior year of high school, and it just came so easily, like in a way none of my songs have before,” Bugg told Pleaser in an interview. “I thought, maybe I am a songwriter, maybe I was made to do this. This is what I want to be doing forever. And it just kind of clicked into place after that in a way that it hadn’t before.”

Bugg’s East Room performance created a safe, vulnerable place for listeners. Bugg writes about escapism, leaving hometowns and struggling with a sense of belonging. She does it in a way that screams authenticity like she isn’t trying to be anything other than herself. Bugg wore a sweater vest and jeans for her performance, and she radiated a comforting warmth as she poured herself into the crowd through songwriting. It was obvious her words resonated. 

Driving down to Nashville for the show was a no-brainer for Bugg, as she got to see all her friends that she’s made through social media and create new friends through her music. A handful of people drove from out of town just to see her performance, which was a surreal moment for Bugg. 

“I haven’t been down to Nashville since I was really little, and through social media, I’ve made so many friends. Izzy, Connell, my friends Abby Powledge and Emma Anderson, and they all came out tonight to see me and the rest of the lineup. That was infinitely my favorite part, getting to connect with these people that I’ve talked to for so long on the internet. They got to meet me in my truest form while I was performing, which was incredible,” Bugg said. “I love performing, and I think tonight was my favorite show I’ve ever played.” 

Long Island native Izzy Potter, the mastermind and organizer of the East Room show, performed a spirited and energetic set, packing a punch with her witty and magnetic lyricism. The room lit up as she began her set, eager fans crowding the floor and grooving to each high-energy song on her setlist. It’s a breath of fresh air to see people so excited about up-and-coming artists. 

Potter’s fascination with music started at a very young age, listening to “Now That’s What I Call Music” CDs and dancing around her living room singing along to the early 2000s hits. Her first taste of songwriting came after a couple of years of guitar lessons, and she started taking writing seriously in high school. 

“It was an outlet to express myself, but also to help describe things in lyrics and sound rather than to just talk about my feelings, and that was what got me into it. My dad was a huge music lover, too. He had a huge collection of records, and I always felt like we bonded over that. He passed away when I was younger, and he played guitar. He was a writer, and he was an artist. Going through his old records and paintings helped me to connect with the musical side of me, too,” Potter told Pleaser. 

Potter considers herself as a writer first, then an artist. However, one of her favorite parts about being a musician is playing music for audiences. There is a certain level of connection that an artist can only make through performing live music for a crowd, and that experience is what makes Potter feel like a real musician. Watching a song transform from words in a journal written on a bedroom floor to a full-band set in a 400-standing room venue is her drug of choice, and it’s what continuously inspires her to continue to create, write and make music. 

Watching Potter interact with her crowd on stage is refreshing, and she connects with her fans with genuine energy. Her set created a moment of pure joy, as her audience members jumped and grooved and locked arms with one another while singing the words to her songs. It’s obvious that she cares about her craft, and it is magical to watch her pour herself into her music and audience. 

“I want people to leave feeling energized and feeling satisfied,” Potter said. “I want them to leave feeling like there was nothing left unsaid, and nothing left unfinished, and I hope that they came for an experience. I hope they move and dance and have a good time.”