On July 12th, moe. will return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, making for a triumphant homecoming at the legendary outdoor Colorado venue following the surprise cancelation of their show last year. The band was forced to cancel 2017’s scheduled Red Rocks performance due to bassist Rod Derhak’s cancer diagnosis, forcing the band to go on an indefinite hiatus. However, with Derhak now cancer-free and moe. back in proper form, the band is primed and ready for their return to the iconic venue with the Baltimore rising stars of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.

moe. Sets Their Eyes On A Triumphant Return To Red Rocks With Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

Since moe. performed their highly anticipated return shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, in February, the group has been on a tear. The group has toured sporadically across the spring, headlining and selling out theaters across the country and offering up their characteristic high-energy and improv-heavy shows. It’s clear fans and musicians alike are overjoyed that moe. is back in the saddle, and this common love among the band and the community its created overflows at each performance.

Recently, over Memorial Day Weekend, moe. headlined Summer Camp Music Festival, returning to Chillicothe, Illinois, to co-host the fan-favorite event with Umphrey’s McGee and kick off the summer festival season in style. Year after year, it’s clear how serious moe. takes their hosting duties, and the band delivered multiple sets of sound and fury that left longtime fans giddy and quickly converted new listeners.

With major performances like Summer Camp and Red Rocks, the band takes every aspect of show seriously—from the songs they choose to the way they always step up the visual elements of the performance. Luckily, moe. has a crew that specializes in making the band’s dreams a reality, even if they have to build the reality themselves.

Days before Summer Camp, moe.’s sound engineer and resident jack-of-all-trades, Steve Young, teamed with the band’s light designer Preston Hoffman, stage manager Casey Latter, guitar tech Frank Robbins, and Dakota Brouillette to make their shared vision a reality. Their project—attaching large white motorized panels to the scaffolding—was a longtime in the making.

Previous years have seen moe. experiment with stage projections and digital mapping, but Andrew Smith of Nashville’s Pulse Lighting had far grander designs this time around. With video of the band members ready to drop during solos, psychedelic pinwheels and patterns of every conceivable shape and size, and even an old-school multi-colored liquid light component, Smith had every possible tool on hand to create something truly unique and memorable. With Hoffman prepped to perfectly match the stage lights with the music and Smith’s projections, the whole event coalesced into an overloading feast for the senses.

Of course, all the fancy lighting in the world doesn’t mean a thing if the music isn’t on point, but since their return from hiatus, moe. has been on fire on every level. While all eyes were initially on the now cancer-free firebrand bassist Rob Derhak, the band’s energy and renewed adventurous spirit had the entire music community buzzing. Plus, despite the time off, during which the band’s members pursued other projects, moe. has even managed to add several new songs to their prodigious catalog, which easily stand alongside their classic material.

moe.’s performances at Summer Camp were ones for the books, though the shows likely just served as a warm-up for the musical madness that will come when the band hits the fabled Red Rocks Amphitheatre on July 12th. Red Rocks brings out the best in all performers who step on that hallowed stage, and if the band’s care and attention to their Summer Camp sets are any indication, we’re in for a wild ride come July.

To prepare for the band’s upcoming Red Rocks show on July 12th with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, you can check out this exclusive footage from moe.’s standout appearance on Saturday night (May 26th, 2018) of Summer Camp Music Festival. Enjoy these videos, and we’ll catch you in Colorado. Tickets for moe.’s headlining Red Rocks appearance are on sale now and available here.

“Time” > “Breathe Reprise”, “Plane Crash”, “Buster” > “Silver Sun”

“New Hope For The New Year” > “Prestige Worldwide” > “Plane Crash”
 

Setlist: moe. | Summer Camp Music Festival at Three Sisters Park | Chillicothe, IL | 5/26/2018

Set One: Billy Goat, Kids, ATL, Montego, Rebubula > Water > Rebubula Reprise

Set Two: Battle Without Honor Or Humanity (Tomoyasu Hotei cover), Time (Pink Floyd cover) > Breathe Reprise (Pink Floyd cover), Plane Crash, Buster > Silver Sun, New Hope For The New Year > Prestige Worldwide > Plane Crash Reprise

Encore: Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover, debut)

Don’t miss out on moe. and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong tearing up Red Rocks Amphitheatre on July 12th. Tickets for the highly anticipated show are on sale now and available here.