by Dan Fernandez
Friday, March 27 at Jannus Live 7:00PM DOORS / 8:00PM SHOW
For more info, visit www.jannuslive.com
The band moe. has been synonymous with the jam and improvised rock scene for over three decades running, remaining as relevant now as ever. Fresh off their “35 years of moe.” tour, a new album release in 2025, the recent news of the return of the fan favorite festival moe.down and a whole batch of tour dates planned for 2026 you don’t need to have 20/20 vision to see that the guys of moe. aren’t slowing down any time soon. Tampa Bay Music News had the pleasure of sitting down with long time percussionist Jim Loughlin earlier this month as the guys prepped to set out on their current tour.
Coming out of Buffalo, New York moe. began to establish themselves in the growing jam community of the early 90’s. For decades the group continued to play a large part in the surging scene, all while managing the ability to stay true to themselves, their love for one another and their organic approach to creating music. Looking back on the decades played together Loughlin reminisces “you know, there’s so many things that I never really thought that we’d do, that we’d be able to accomplish when we were starting out as a college band but the biggest highlight is really just the fact that we’re still around, going and like each other.” Jim finishes that last part with a chuckle. When asked if there was a secret sauce to this longevity as they have been able to adapt seamlessly in an ever evolving soundscape, Loughlin responds “It sort of came natural in the fact that we were all friends. Everybody just gelled really quickly as far as personalities go. You know, as the years went on and the songwriting evolved we got more of a definitive idea of what we really wanted to do as a band. Also, just the idea that nothing is really off limits and nothing is unattainable for us. So, we’re not writing stuff in handcuffs and we’re not restricting anything as this goes on. As long as it fits the song and as long as everybody likes the song.”
It hasn’t been all sunshine for moe. as they were forced into a hiatus and to reconcile with their own mortality due to a member’s diagnosis. On their resurgence from the pause Loughlin told TBMN “Those years from 2018 to 2024 probably where so much crazy shit happened and we were just kind of keeping our heads above water. So, you know, we’re trying to, sort of get our place back. Back to normal, for lack of a better term. And, you know, we’ve done that. We released the record; we’ve been on the road for 3 years solid now.” As far as the content of those most recent releases and the future of their music goes “So much happened, you know, between the release of the last album, which I think was what happened to the Lalas?” Jim continued “In 2020 we kind of finished it up (This Is Not , We Are) sort of around the lockdown era, That album we went in to do because we hadn’t done a record in so long and we had so many songs like, even releasing an EP and a full length record, there was still stuff left… Then we got Nate and once we had Nate we kind of felt like we needed to release something with that lineup. It Jumpstarted us a bit to work on something new and get to introduce Nate, not just through live shows, but his songs on the record and all that.”
The culmination of that resurgence leads us to moe.’s current tour which includes an early 3 day run in Buffalo, their town of origin. On playing a run of shows in the city where moe. got their start “It’s always great when we get to spend time there. It’s so comfortable playing there. You know tons of people that we still know. That still live there. We get to see old friends and old stomping grounds… It’s such a great music town though, it always has been. I’ve always said the Buffalo music scene is incredible.” Despite the love they show for their hometown the cold can get to you quickly which is one of the many reasons that moe. has been so loyal to touring the sunshine state. “We always do well in Florida. There are also so many good venues down there that we get to play that are always just a really good time.” moe.
While being veterans of the festival circuit the group sees the benefits in playing both large festival spaces as well as smaller, more intimate venues such as Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, Florida. “In festival crowds you always keep in mind that not everyone is particularly there to see you. So, you have to play kind of a more varied set. There’s a possibility to walk out of that set with 100s of new fans you know what I mean? So, it’s hard to do like the super deep cuts or the quirky songs that, you know, are fan favorites maybe but don’t translate to like a general audience. The energy is usually awesome at a festival.” Loughling added “I mean at (Jannus Live), you know, people are there to throw down. It’s kind of an easier set in a way and it’s a kind of a more difficult set in a way. You know, there might be a couple people who their friends drag them to the show or whatever, but it’s not like at a festival, you’re guaranteed to be playing in front of people who are there to see you.”
Speaking of Festivals the last time moe. was in Florida was for our renowned festival Hulaween hosted in Live Oak, Florida. On their experience at the fest Jim told us “That festival is a trip, man, because you know, there’s so much going on and there’s so many…It’s this weird combination of like, Jan band music and EDM… The costumes and atmosphere, then the grounds itself are just so cool.” moe. is currently on the road for their 2026 tour and dates can be found on their website. For the locals, be sure to catch the guys on Friday, March 27 at Jannus Live with doors opening at 7 PM.
Below are 3 fan questions that were polled for this interview. The answers have been shortened for brevity.
Q1. what was the, what was behind the decision to bring back Mo down? Was there like a particular driving force or just about that time?
A. Kind of just about that time. It’s one of those things that we always want to do. When we first started doing it festivals weren’t a huge thing but as that concept grew and grew and festivals like Bonnaroo came around and all these huge festivals. We realized that that was never really our goal with this thing. We didn’t want to compete with anything on those levels. We just wanted to have something that was ours and that was a good weekend of music.”
Q2. Do you guys have any like pre-tour or pre-show rituals that you stick to, whether it be collective or individual?
A. Not pre-tour but before every show we do our set list meeting where we talk about the set and how it’s going to go. How the segues are going to, sort of, at least get in and out. And then usually we all gather around and do a shot of tequila and then get on stage.”
Q3. It might be a tough one, but what artist, alive or dead, would be your ultimate sit in? If you have to name a couple feel free because I don’t know if I could do that one.
A. Oh my god that’s a hard one… I’d love to sit in with Primus. Um, I would have loved to have been able to play with any of the classic Vibe from players like Red Norvo, Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton to Gary Burton, like any, any, any of those guys. If I could stand next to them and watch them play, I’d just lose my mind. Like any of the 80’s like, Maiden or Judas Priest would be a blast… The cool thing about the jam band scene is that it you get to play with so many people, like, either them sitting in with us or us sitting in with other bands. I’ve played with so many different artists in the scene, and so many of them are just monster players. It’s so fun. You don’t see it in a lot of other music scenes. The whole improv level of jam bands just plays to it so well. Like jazz is one of the only scenes you’ll see just other cats come in and sit in on a song and it’s always awesome.”
