Perpetual Groove has cultivated an incredibly strong following in the southeast over the past few years and even hosts its own annual festival outside its Athens, GA, hometown, Amberland. Unlike many festivals, however, Amberland only features one band, Perpetual Groove, who offered no less than six sets of original music on Saturday and Sunday. Perpetual Groove guitarist Brock Butler opened the weekends festivities on Friday, offering a solo set which mixed covers by bands like Secret Machines with his own originals. The group offered three full electric sets Saturday, including the debut of the new original Too Close to the Sun and a choice cover of Pink Floyds Have a Cigar, which featured bassist Adam Perrys brother Damien on percussion. Longtime Jambase.com staffer Super Dee also showed off her orchestra-trained violin skills on Out Here. Perhaps the evenings most unique cover took place during Perpetual Grooves third set, when the quartet ran through a cover of Kayne Wests ‘We Dont Care’ in the middle of its own Macumba. Damian Perry also made an encore appearance during his brothers third set on a particularly exciting version of the original Mayday.

Sundays entertainment opened with another set from Butler, including covers of material by Tom Petty (Time to Move On) and Taj Mahal (Queen Bee). Soon after the early-day Brockfest spot, the group played three jam-heavy sets, which balanced a range of originals with covers by such bands as Talking Heads. The groups final set ended with the debut of the new Perpetual Groove original Under Lock & Key. Super Dee returned during the groups second set, playing violin on All This Everything Part I. The rest of that set revolved around a segue of songs, including Crockett and Tubbs, Robot Waltz, Crockett and Tubbs, and, later, a drum segment which seamlessly flowed into Stealy Mean, MOTA and Gratitude. Adding a cyclical feel to the evening, the group closed its set with All This Everything Part II.
Perpetual Groove is off the road for a few days before kicking off a tour this Friday at Winston-Salem, NCs Ziggy’s.