Musical Icon Col. Bruce Hampton Returns to North Georgia

Clarkesville, GA, March 05, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Col. Bruce Hampton returns to Grant Street Music Room, Clarkesville Georgia on Saturday March 8th 8pm. Considered by many as the “Grandfather of the Jam Band movement” and a living musical legend his career continues to thrive and evolve.

Equal parts psychedelicized Allman Brothers and boogiefied Grateful Dead (with a dash of Commander Cody thrown in), Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit capitalized on the Nuevo-hippie movement that swept through America in the early '90s. The Atlanta-born Hampton has been kicking around the Southern music circuit since the early '60s; as the Hampton Grease Band, he released Music to Eat on Columbia Records in 1969.

Hampton formed the Aquarium Rescue Unit, an eclectic congregation adept at everything from country-swing jazz to meltdown Southern boogie and over-amped gospel bluegrass. By the time of 1992's Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit, the band featured Oteil Burbridge on bass and vocals, guitarist Jimmy Herring, Matt Mundy on electric mandolin and vocals, and drummer Apt. Q258; the record documented a live date from the previous September. The band's first studio album, Mirrors of Embarrassment, was released in mid-1993, concurrent with an appearance on the H.O.R.D.E. tour. Hampton released the career retrospect Strange Voices.

In 1996, Hampton was given his first motion picture role -- playing Morris in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade. Hampton performed live with various ensembles and appeared in Phishman Mike Gordon's 1999 film Outside Out. In 2012 his musical movie "basically Frightened" had rave reviews during the "Atlanta Film Festival." Hampton has recently formed even more musical ensembles The Quark Alliance, The Pharaohs Kitchen and continues to tour both with his ever evolving musicians and Widespread Panic among others.