Taxi A& R Company

Sensational blues infused vocal delivery. Soulful vocals take center stage. I'm a fan, and I'm very picky."

Kansas City Blues Society

"Had Bonnie Raitt and Johnny Cash Shared DNA, the results would produce Sarah Potenza"

Motif Magazine

“Jonesin’ for Little Rhody” is a song from the CD, A Lifetime Worth of Sin by Sarah and the Tall Boys. Jonesin’ for Little Rhody really must be true for the two native Rhode Islanders/band members, Ian Crossman and Sarah Potenza Crossman because they are headed here from Chicago for a few Rhode Island dates. This is another one of those statements that make you feel old, “I remember when Ian was born.” It was about 30 years ago. I used to hang out and play music…well actually more like “party a bit with his father Daryl back in the day. I haven’t seen Ian in many, many, MANY years. I recently received an e-mail note from him and he let me know that he would be touring out this way at the end of July/beginning of August. I told him to pop a CD in the mail and I’ll take a listen to it. When you hear a lot of music like I do you are always fearful of getting a CD from someone that you know. You never know what to expect.

Well, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The CD is good…VERY good. Sarah and the Tall Boys play a mix of blues, bluegrass, alternative country, and Americana. They play the mix of music you’d likely hear at the Rhythm and Roots fest. You can certainly do some dancin’ to these tunes. The aforementioned “Jonesin’ for Little Rhody” is an appropriately named swinging number that drops names like the Ocean Mist, Del’s, The Biltmore, Narragansett Beer and Roger Williams. Bandleader Sarah Potenza Crossman pens the lyrics and sings and husband Ian handles the bass work for this, the band’s second release. Rounding out the band are Dan Allen on guitar/backing vox and Brian Sansom on drums. If you like the voice of Janis Joplin mixed with a sound akin to Asleep at the Wheel you will love this band. They are playing five shows in the area. Plenty of opportunity to get a listen, get hooked and go back for more. Catch them at Waterplace Park on July 30th, Nick-a-Nees on August 5th, Cady’s Tavern on the 6th, Chan’s on 7th, and the Westerly Town Beach on the 9th. If that just ain’t enough, and it may not be, check out their website because they are playing other dates in the New England area. Take a listen to their music and you can see why this is a busy band.

Static Multimedia

Sarah Potenza brought the house down with her bigger-than-life blues, the epitome of the phrase "man, does she have PIPES!"

Providence Journal

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.

“It’s kind of unbelievable,” Potenza said of her reception afterward, noting that her straight country style doesn’t go over as well in Chicago.

“It’s always a conscious thing, to keep some hometown flavor,” said festival co-organizer Chuck Wentworth, and he felt this year’s crop was particularly strong, calling Potenza “phenomenal.” “She had the crowd in the palm of her hand” during her main stage performance Friday night, he said. She drew a standing ovation and an encore there, too.

Providence Journal

Sarah Potenza started out in Providence and headed to Chicago to start Sarah and the Tall Boys, where they hit the good old country-rock, with an emphasis on country and on Potenza’s outsized, pin-you-to-the-wall vocal chops.

The Daily Herald, Washington Post

Part Alt-Country, part Blues, this band is hard to categorize. Simply put, they play great American music.

Nate Dow, Boston Herald

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 Globe

Blues, bluegrass, and alternative country get the royal treatment from the Chicago-based Americana band Sarah & the Tall Boys. 

KDHX-88.1 St. Louis

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.

Time Out Chicago

The Tall Boys have a quiet, rootsy sound that's reminiscent of the Cowboy Junkies. Several of the ballads on their newest album, the self released Shiny & New, all start with a sustaining chord—like the Junkies in their prime. As for Sarah Potenza herself, she's got a bad case of the Janis Joplins—recommended if you like Susan Tedeschi's more pop-oriented material.