State College may very well have found itself a new "to-do" on Friday nights.

In an interesting turn of events, local bluegrass band, Jack's Farm, performed Friday at Players Nite Club, 112 W. College Ave., and will also make a repeat performance at the same unlikely venue this Friday.

After a weeklong effort to advertise the event, Jack's Farm played to an eclectic mix of followers and the regular dance-club crowd who were oblivious to the unusual scheduling of alternative musical entertainment.

And although the crowd wasn't its usual size and wasn't entirely made up of its usual genre of folk-rockers, the band sure did its job.

Following true form, the band started out with a typical tribute to the Allman Brothers, complete with a twisting, turning jam session.

However, the band quickly upped its tempo with a stellar performance of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride."

Drawing its followers onto a dance floor unusually large in comparison to those at its usual venues.

Luring newcomers along for the ride proved to be as easily done as drummer Chris Ratti's smashing ability to reproduce the '70s hit.

Until the colored lights stopped flashing and the screen of smoke swirling around the stage cleared, it was hard to see where the voice behind the tune originated.

But once the audience caught hold of the younger Ratti brother belting out the lyrics to only the second song into the show, the mood was already set.

Older brother, John Ratti, was able to make a startlingly fresh reproduction of "L.A. Woman" by The Doors and transport the audience backward into a decade of trances and meditation.

By the time Jack's Farm took a breather between sets, the audience needed one as well.

Its honest rendition of "Listen to the Music" by the Doobie Brothers had nearly everyone on their feet.

Returning after a brief set break, the band was ready to woo its fans all over again.

Performing favorites by groups such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and songs to appease all members of the mixed crowd in attendance, Jack's Farm held true to its mantra of performing songs released before 1977, the year its youngest member was born.

With its upbeat clarity and penchant for being true to each band member's own character, the band knows how to break the barriers normally faced by a State College cover band.

By choosing not to follow suit of typical bluegrass or jam bands, which all blend together after a time, Jack's Farm creates an identity all its own.

Jack's Farm will perform again at 10:30 p.m. Friday at Players.

And if all goes well, the band will follow in its Grateful Dead tradition and "Not Fade Away."