Chestnut Grove opens up day three of XPNFest with a bang

“We’re your neighbors from Perkiomenville!” said Dee Gerhart of Chestnut Grove. “Just a quick hop, skip, and a jump up I-76.”

The seasoned regional roots rock combo took the Marina Stage today to get day three of XPNFest going. They wore brightly-colored coordinated jumpsuits and used them for lots of actual jumping, dancing, and presumably sweating as the midday sun soared over Wiggins Park.

Showcasing the band’s latest release, the Can’t Stand The Music EP — which got a stellar showing a few weeks back at Free at Noon, and which finds the band expanding their sonic palette into disco and soul — Chestnut Grove balanced the midtempo grooves of “All For You” and the cosmic “Maharishi” (which featured drummer James Daniels stepping to the front of the stage for lead vocals) with revved up rockers “No Stranger” (which featured Gerhart and keyboardist / guitarist John Tyler simply going off) and the Zeppelin-esque closing rager “Jack Knife / Skip To My Lou.”