The Statesboro Music Festival is upon us, which is sure to be entertaining. Fun times in spring weather are sure to be had by all, but what sort of music will we be hearing?

Statesboro, being a smaller Southern town, isn’t going to attract any superstars. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t relax with good friends, good food and listen to what the festival has to offer.

It ain’t Bonnaroo, but some local musicians from GSU will perform and certainly deserve a listen from their fellow students. Others hail from different parts of the Southeast and bring listenable tunes with no surprises.

Perpetual Groove

Jam band. For some, those two words tell you everything you need to know about Perpetual Groove. This is a group of top-notch musicians who get up on stage and play their instruments with great skill. Some might find them boring, and others might find a fantastic live show worth seeing again. Thus is the nature of the Jam Band.

A festival environment is where bands like Savannah natives Perpetual Groove thrive–playing to a crowd in a field somewhere, not so much playing songs as they are playing whatever music fits the moment. Like any Jam Band worth their salt, Perpetual Groove is worth checking out live.

The Tarlatans

The Tarlatans are a country/folk type band that occasionally veers to the pop-side of Nashville. The obvious stylistic comparison is the Avett Brothers, but where the Avetts would veer to more bluegrass stylings, The Tarlatans play it straight through with a folksy sound that evens veers into country territory.

Unfortunately, that proves to be their undoing when compared with their contemporaries. The more country–the further away from a calmer folk sound–their music gets, the less exciting it gets. The music sounds like what you would listen to sitting on a front porch, sipping iced tea and watching the sun set, but there’s nothing you haven’t heard before.

The Deadfields

The Deadfields are another country/folk/bluegrass band that sort of sits in the middle of all those genres. Their debut album from 2012, called “Dance in the Sun,” holds a bunch of mid-tempo songs that will be perfect to listen to for an afternoon in Statesboro, and little else. Bring your friends, or you might get bored.