Bassist, vocalist, and songwriter Rob Derhak is one of the founding members of moe. – the jam band that first formed at the University of Buffalo that is now celebrating its 35th year. After over 80 performances in 2025 and the release of their critically acclaimed 14th studio album “Circle of Giants,” moe. is closing out the year with a show in Albany at the Palace Theatre on Dec. 27. The city and band have a deep connection. moe. called Albany home during its formative years in the ’90s, playing the Palace for the first time back in 1996 among the 40-odd appearances it’s made in New York’s capital over the years. That love was reflected back at the band after one of its most challenging episodes: Albany established a moe.day on Feb. 24, 2018, to mark moe.’s first show back after Derhak successfully beat throat cancer following chemotherapy and radiation treatment in 2017. As he prepares to take the Palace stage again this weekend, Derhak spoke with Josh Landes of WAMC’s Shakedown Beat to talk about what 35 years means to a band that’s relied on brotherhood and camaraderie to overcome adversity time and time again while continuing to expand and evolve its sound.
WAMC: So, Rob, my first question for you is, to some people, a 35th anniversary is maybe not so intuitively a big date to hang a hat on, but you guys have made a meal of it this year, and I suspect it's for good reason. What was it about this 35th year of moe. that you guys felt was worth saying, this is a big deal, we want to really say this year matters to us?
DERHAK: Well, I mean, we had a whole bunch of hiccups in a way, and our 30th anniversary would have been during COVID when we had to stop playing. So that kind of crushed our 30th anniversary. And we added a keyboardist who's been a huge part of the band recently, and our guitarist, Chuck [Garvey] had a stroke, and was able to overcome that and get playing with us again. So, we thought 35 really was the right thing to do to, to celebrate the fact that here we are, we've come around, we're a different band, but we're the same band at the same time, and we were persevering.
Yeah, the sobriquet of “the most resilient band on the planet” has been part of your introduction this year. I wanted to ask you about that- We see a lot of bands with long, complicated histories and relationships really struggle internally about much simpler things than some of the challenges you guys have faced. I wanted to ask about your internal band emotional intelligence and how you've built these relationships that can stand up through some of these really overwhelming challenges.
Well, sometimes the simpler things are the ones that kind of get to you more. When you're faced with these life changing obstacles, you kind of see who your friends are. And we all have been together for all of it, and we've all stood by each other. And I think it makes the little stuff just not mean as much. It's just like, don't sweat the small stuff kind of thing, and we've been able to, just as a band and as friends, be able to talk through whatever issues or problems we may have with each other. And it's never anything massive. It's never anything like, band ending- it's sort of like dealing with your brother. You're not always going to get along, but you're still family.
The 30 years that you originally planned on celebrating back in 2020- To jam band fans, 30 years, that's a huge landmark. That's when the Grateful Dead, the wheels fell off. Jerry died. That era ended abruptly and painfully. To make it past that point- I mean, that much must have tremendous personal significance as a long-standing member of that world.
Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, you when you're in it, it's like anything else, right? You're not thinking about it. You're thinking about it in a day to day, you deal with problems day to day, and all of a sudden it hits you. It's like, holy crap- It's been 30 years we've been doing this. Some bands are lucky if they make it five years or 10 years, but you know, we're now at 35 years. And I mean, it's not all the same band members, but it's most of them, and most of us have been with it for the whole time. I've been with it, and Chuck's been here since day one, and Al [Schnier], not too far after that. Even the Dead still are able to do something, right? And they have some sort of connection. But I'm trying to think of other bands, like, how long other bands made it- All’s I’m really concerned with right now, is, like, us. I'm more concerned with how we relate to each other, and how far we can make it doing this.
Now, earlier, you alluded to the most recent member of the band- The great Nate Wilson on keys. He has added this like incredible element to moe. that, it's sort of like funny to listen back, because obviously, for many years, you guys were doing completely fine without Nate Wilson, but now it seems impossible to imagine the band reaching quite the heights that it's currently reaching without him. For you, on stage playing with Nate, personality wise, what are these things that he's bringing to moe. now that weren't there before him?
There are always elements of the things that he brings, but he's just so good. He's able to make sense of some of the jams that we never made sense of. We just kind of meandered a little bit, and he's really good at voicing progressions that we do and making them sound like- It's just something that you can't really do without the sound of a keyboard, or you need, like, a full string section to make those things, make those chords voice when you're when you're doing a noodling thing, or even if there's a harmonic, you know, two guitar and bass, like, three-part harmony going on, having that thing just sort of lift you up in the background. And then, when it comes time for him to solo- I mean, it's unreal to watch him play. He really is a master.
Yeah, I think you guys can really enter this wonderful sort of floaty, ethereal space- Particularly, I think about “Band In The Sky,” about the “No Quarter” cover. You guys can launch into this wonderful, sort of drifty space that is really mesmerizing and fun. What does it feel like on stage when you get to that sort of drifty, psychedelic zone that that feels so- I don't know, it's hard to say? It's very effervescent, it's very like uplifting.
Yeah. I mean, how does it feel in the audience? Because it feels really good on stage. It's like this sort of fog that's on the top of a swamp, you know, and it's sort of growing and bubbling. And it's really cool to just have all these different elements swirling and swirling until it really builds into something, and sometimes, , having different key sounds and stuff and different effects on the guitar pedals really lets it build and build. And it feels really great. It feels like you're floating. And then somebody just will take a solo and then it just rips off. It's great.
So, at this point, are you listening back to a lot of the shows over the course of the years?
We were picking out some stuff that we wanted to release, and someone had suggested one thing, and then we listened to it, and it was like, oh, that wasn't as good as we remember. So, then we just ended up going back and listening to a bunch of things, and I found something, like, exactly what you're talking about. And I was like, guys, you got to listen to this, and just listening back – it was probably within the last year – and it was just exactly what you're talking about, and it sounded really cool.
I think for a lot of jam band fans, there's this intent on really frenetic intensity and sort of virtuosic display- And I think something that moe. reminds me the most about the Dead, the strongest parallel I see, is that you guys are really focused on listening and weaving and making space for each other. Everyone's passing the ball in moe., I feel like, and I think that's sort of something people maybe miss. I don't know- Does that translate at all to your experience actually doing the stuff?
Well, we call it loosening the pickle jar [laughs] as a joke. Someone said it to somebody at one point- Everyone's just sort of passing the pickle jar around, and, like, no one quite opens it, but they just make it’s a little loose for the next guy. And eventually somebody opens the jar and rips the solo.
What is the state of moe. nation that you've experienced over this 35th year anniversary? You've been all around the country, you've played tiny rooms, you've played big, beautiful theaters- You're really checking in with your audience, and it seems like next year is going to be just as ambitious, and more on that to come. But what's your report from the front lines of the moe. fan base?
Well, the thing I'm noticing is fans that bailed on us a long time ago are coming back and being like, wow. And then I'm seeing younger people, and I'm seeing a lot of people traveling all over the place to go see us. And that's a really great thing to see. And we're playing events for a small group of people, like in Montana or something, and at a really cool spot. And then we'll go and do a big theater show or play- we have moe.down coming up now, and that's going to be thing, but we're doing a big Albany theater show, and it's really been pretty cool just seeing the new people and the old people, and just having the ability be able to go and play in a in a small, cool, little venue and pare everything down, and then go back and have a big, grand light show at a nice, big theater, and do that big thing, and still be able to translate to both of those things. It's kind of cool.
You just got off this scorching hot weekend in Boston that that culminated in this Monkeys On Ecstasy show at this tiny venue where you really pulled out all the stops. I can tell you as someone who was monitoring it on social media, when the photo dropped of a three song set list on paper, the enthusiasm was like, okay, the boys are laying it down tonight. And what resulted was this really unique, thrilling, improv-heavy, exciting, sort of vintage moe. performance. Tell me about that- How did you guys get set for that show? And when you put down those three song titles, clearly, it told a much larger story at the end of the day. Tell us about the thought process.
Well, it's still the same set list writing rotation, but there's sort of an unspoken thing when we do the Monkey shows that they have to be unique in some way. We have to figure out some way to make them unique. And we've done all sorts of different things. I think one time we put Vinnie in the front, and we all set up behind him, and did like the Vinnie Amico Experience kind of thing, and the drummer. This time- We used to have a thing where, we do it every once while, it’s called an “all question marks” set. So, there wasn't any songs, and then each person would, we'd go clockwise, and we'd start with one song, and then the person to the right would have to figure out what they wanted to go into and jam from one song to the next. And this was sort of an idea that was, I mean, this set list was sort of like that, but we're not going to have any question marks. It's just going to be three songs, one of them is an encore, and whatever happens, happens. So, for all we know, it could be like- “Meat” could have just been the entire first set, which was starting to look like it wasn't going to go into any other songs. We were just improvising and coming up with new jams, which was really cool. And then eventually it turned into something, I can't remember what it was – Oh, “Tailspin,” I think – but the thought process was, let's do something as unique as we can because that's what everybody here wants to see. And it came from the old “question mark” kind of idea, but it was, instead of going into other tunes, we're just going to see. Like, there are no rules for this, we're just going to go and, somebody has to- I think I started driving the ship a little bit because we weren't sure what direction it was going. But you just got to listen to who seems to be taking charge, and follow along. It's easier for the bass to do that than just about anything. But then the guys, the keys or guitars, will do key changes and change chords and stuff, and you follow along, and then just hope for the best.
A moment that I was delighted by this summer where things didn't go for the best, but quickly turned tail was Chuck's guitar issues in at the Adirondack independence Music Festival, where it seemed like things weren't quite working out with his guitar, he was pretty frustrated. You helpfully picked it up and sort of steered the jam in a totally different direction, and we got to see the rare sight of Chuck Garvey on bass and Rob Derhak on guitar. I mean, tell us about that- Clearly you laughed it off and went with it. What was that like on stage? Because it worked out shockingly well from an audience perspective.
On stage, I could see that Chuck was like, give me my guitar back and stop playing my guitar. I played way too long. And when you listen to the recording, it's pretty obvious that I played way too long, but it was fun as hell. Was that where he got really frustrated and ripped the strings off his guitar?
Yeah, he threw that thing right down on the ground.
yeah, yeah. I think it was like that. [laughs] I would never profess to be a guitar player.
Alright, allegations avoided. Back in October, you delighted a lot of listeners and fans by participating in the No Kings protest in a very distinct moe. way via a cleverly written set list. [The first letter of each song spelled out the unmistakable message “FTRUMP NOKINGS”.] I think people were really happy to see some kind of advocacy or political stance from a band like moe. It seems like that's really becoming rare in a scene that often used to be really associated with much more outspoken politics. Can you tell me a little bit about that from the band's perspective?
Well, yeah, some of the audience did, but then you get certain people saying, stick to singing, you don't have any business having an opinion kind of thing. One person was like, well, I was going to see you in Florida when you got here, but now I'm not going to go. That kind of thing. But there were quite a few positive things. But the funny thing about that was, I had no idea that we had done that. Vinnie wrote the set list, and I'm like, it seemed like kind of a weird set, and there was a repeat from, like, a night before or a day before, two shows before. And I just thought, okay, whatever. And then I didn't know, I had no clue until the next day that that's what the set list said, or what we did. I was completely in the dark in the whole thing and or I missed the conversation.
Part of the band's live experiences this year as you've been talking about mental health and this undertaking Eddie's Hugs at the merch table- As someone with my own struggles with mental health, it's been really been wonderful to see you guys take space to talk about some difficult things and make space for those conversations at a moe. concert. Can you speak to that a little bit? What message are you trying to get out to listeners?
We're just trying to get out that- One thing you want people to understand is that you don't know what anyone's going through, right? So, you may judge somebody based on something that you misperceive from their actions. And I think that if you're not going through any mental struggle, somebody else may be. The thing we're trying to say to the people who are- It's okay to have these feelings, it's normal, and the most important thing is we want people just to show each other that they're loved. And if you're not getting help, get help. Go and make the effort. Please get help. And please, if you can help someone, get help. Eddie's Hugs right now is a nonprofit that my wife and I have started, and it's for mental health awareness, and it's going to try to cover costs and help people find therapy, make it easier for them to get their hands on it, and help with some of the financial part of it, and just help them direct it and make it more normal, like make it something that people aren't afraid to talk about. Suicide is one of the top killers of young men right now. This is insane. It's not cancer, it's not drunk driving. They're dying at their own hand.
Well, I think it's really powerful what you guys are doing, and I really appreciate that you're doing it. I wanted to turn now to what the coming few months look like for moe. We're talking about the lead up to this big end of year camping concert in Albany, and obviously Albany, the Capitol Region, Upstate New York- All big parts of the moe. story. Tell us about the decision to end this big 35th anniversary celebration in Albany, and what fans can expect from the Palace Theater on the 27th?
Oh, it's going to be a banger. First of all, we love Albany. We have roots there. We have band members in the area, we have so many fans. And we grew up in Central New York and we lived in Albany. This thing with this is, it's Greg Bell's final show, and Greg Bell is our promoter from day one in Albany playing at Valentine's to like, him and maybe two other people, and he'll tell you that. He saw something in us when nobody else did in that area, and just kept booking us and getting us shows. And we have used him consistently as the promoter, and we have partnered with him our entire careers. And he's retiring, so it's going to be a big party, and the show- The lights are going to be fantastic, the music is going to be fantastic. We're hoping for a massive crowd, which I'm pretty sure it will be, and it's right after Christmas, it's on a Saturday- It's just a lot of celebration.
Well, there's a lot of cause to celebrate right now, certainly the news of the return of moe.down next year. I mean, that's something that people are hungry for, it seems like, and really excited about. Tell us about that- What's this new version of moe.down going to look like at its new home over in Pennsylvania?
Well, I think it's going to look a lot like the old one. I think there's a little more infrastructure built into there, so we don't have to, like build the stage, because I think there's already a stage, but it's in a fairground, and it's supposedly – I have not seen it in person, I've just seen pictures from management and promoters –it's going to be like moe.downs of the past. We're going to have some friends’ bands there, we're going to be headlining all the nights, and there'll be camping and partying and lots of great music and late-night shows, vending. It's going to be great. I don't think it's much further from Albany than- It's about the same distance from Albany, I think, is as Turin was. So, I don't think it's much of a different drive, but it's going to be out in the Poconos. It'll be very cool.
Looking back over the last year, I've been listening really avidly, and I've actually managed to hit a pretty healthy number of shows- Do you have any highlights from this last year of playing out that that really have stood out to you from the many shows you've played in 2025?
Well, one of the biggest highlights for me was when we did the Halloween show in New Orleans. We did Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or it was called, what did we call it? It was- Jamalot? [laughs] King Arthur Jamalot? Or Jamalot: The Search for the Holy Grail? Or the search for the Grail? I don't know, something like that. God, my memory's shot. [It was titled “Jamalot: A Quest for the Grail.”] And we learned a bunch of music from the movie, the main theme songs, and did little skits and stuff, and dressed up. It was a lot of fun, and people really dug it. And then one of the greatest, the best shows we did, too, was we did a bill with Umphrey’s McGee outside of Syracuse last summer. And that was at this placed called Sharkey's. It was like, in a million years, I wouldn't have thought it would be a cool place to do a gig, and it turned out to be like one of the best gigs that we did all summer long. It was like this really laid-back atmosphere, but it was great crowd and great, great playing with the band. So those were two of the biggest standouts for me.
I wanted to ask you about a couple of the things that stood out to me over the course of the year. Up in New Hampshire, at the Northlands Festival there, that incredible “Planet Caravan” cover melting perfectly into “Kyle's Song”- That was just like, you know, you're at this festival, big crowd, the sun is setting, there’s this sort of magical atmosphere. I found that one-two punch just like a knockout. Any memories of that? Because talk about bringing the Nate Wilson of it all to the fore-
Yeah.
It’s just sort of one of those things that felt like butter, like it's always been happening.
Yeah, he's really good at that kind of stuff. And it wouldn't have occurred to us to play “Planet Caravan” at a festival set, but he slipped it in there and it was exactly what you said. It was very smooth. It was like butter, like slightly soft butter melting. And the funny thing is, I love the tune and, some Sabbath guys, like, you know, honestly, that's one of my least favorite Sabbath tunes I’d want to play. But I think it's great. And there's probably people in the audience that have no idea what we just played.
Are there any songs from the songbook – Certainly looking at the shows in South Carolina, looking at some of the deeper dives you've done – any of these songs that you wrote, maybe 30, 35, years ago, that hit you differently now in 2025 than they did at the time of their inception?
Jeez. Well, whenever Chuck can go and play something that's simple, and he just plays and comes out and does “Where Does The Time Go” or something like that, or “It,” it's just like hearing him – “Hi & Lo” – hearing him be able to do the vocals and be able to function and do all and make all that happen that hits so much harder than when we played the song before he had a stroke, and it hits so much more knowing what he's had to do to get to the point where he can just sound normal again and sing and play normal again. For the first year that he was back playing, Al and I would start almost crying on stage when he would do it. That's the sort of thing that hits a lot more now.
I also wanted to draw attention to your own composition, “Ups and Downs.” I mean, talk about a song that really leans into reflecting on history, reflecting on the peaks and valleys of life. It does feel like that song really hits in a way at this point in your career as a songwriter that I doubt you could have written 30, 20, maybe even 10 years ago. Can you talk about that a little bit? I think it's one of the most effective songs on new album.
Yeah. That song is one of the things that I'm almost most proud of. That song, out of most of the things I've written- I would have to say it just comes from a real place. It was written for somebody else, but it was all based on my personal feelings and experiences. So, every time I sing it, it's not just singing the words. It's like I feel them, I feel emotional about it, and it's not just like going through the motions. And I couldn't have done that 30 years ago. I couldn't have been that honest.
I delighted in catching quite a few versions of “Blue Jeans Pizza” this year. And that song also lyrically carries a lot of those similar themes, of reflecting on past times with this bittersweet quality, times that have come and gone. It's funny, because on paper, you see a song title like “Blue Jeans Pizza,” and it’s like, well, that's probably the most frivolous song in the land. But in fact, it's actually quite a heavy tune. Any thoughts on that and how that resonates in 2025?
Well, the only thing frivolous about it is the name. We just didn't have a name. I didn't name the song, and we're driving through Worcester, and there was actually a place called Blue Jeans Pizza. So, we thought, it was like, hell, let's just call a song that. But the rest of the rest of the tune isn't frivolous, really. I mean, I tend to have these nostalgic songs and writing from different places in time, looking back. I did that with “Okayalright,” and I have a new song that I did that with, “Skitchin Buffalo.” And it's just like, I do that. I think that's just sort of my go to.
I'm interested in, this year, what you've been absorbing as far as music or books or movies. What are you doing in your personal life as far as absorbing other people's creativity as you go about bringing moe. into year 36 next year?
I have playlists that I listen to, and, I started to take music that I would hear on- You ever see the show “What We Do In The Shadows”?
Oh yeah. Love that show!
So, I've got a playlist of all these different songs that I heard on there, including the theme song. So, I, I've used that to sort of delve into some new music, and I've been doing that for a while, but I mean, honestly, right now you're catching me this close to Christmas. So, I'm the guy who makes Christmas playlists and puts on- Like, I have Christmas vinyl that I play every single day. I'm driving everyone nuts.
Any Robert Goulet?
No, no. I mean, it's like Ella Fitzgerald and Peanuts and stuff like that. No, no Goulet.
I wanted to ask you about “Circle of Giants.” Now, it's been almost a year since you guys released it. It's a really stunning record. It's a fun pivot for the band into some of these duskier psychedelic rock territories, and obviously, you’ve been playing the hell out of it on the road this year. With almost a full calendar year under your belt with the album, how is it sitting for you? I, for one, from a graphic design standpoint, it's probably one of the best-looking albums of the year. But also, it really pays off on the recording. It's rich, it's in-depth, it covers a lot of territory.
Yeah.
Everyone, songwriting-wise, gets a chance to have their moment. Tell me how it's sitting now, 12 months out.
I still want to play all those tunes. I still love it. I could get by just playing that album every day for a tour. I know that everyone wouldn't love that, but I'm absolutely thrilled with it. And I want to go back and put another album together and just keep pushing the boundaries with what we did with that.
Is there a moment on it that you think best sort of exemplifies what you guys are all about at this point in your career? I mean, I have a few theories of my own, but obviously, I'm much more interested in yours.
I think “Band In The Sky” says quite a bit. But I don't know, it's tough to say. “Giants” is another one to me, and “Ups and Downs,” all those things. I'd like to hear what you think, though.
Well, you took the words right out of my mouth with “Band In The Sky.” I've seen you guys seven times this year so far – and I'm a late moe. adopter, I only really started in earnest this year, so I'm trying to make up for a lost time – but every opportunity to see you guys do “Band In The Sky,” I was looking forward to it so much after hearing on the record, and then there's been a few versions that I think are exemplary. You took the song for a 17-minute walk at an outdoor free show in Hartford, Connecticut.
[laughs]
I was there with my buddy, and we were so impressed that you guys- You know, you're at this free show, it's Hartford, it’s really in the heart of the city, and you feel the comfort and the confidence to really take one of your best songs of the year out on a really thorough walk. It's really clear how much you get out of it. I mean, the version of the at the Capitol Theatre, the version in Boston that I saw-
Yeah.
Talk about Nate sweeping in on that grand piano, how excellent that sounds. I mean, that song really feels like the band at its best right now- Unhurried, confident, in the pocket. I mean, am I hitting anything here?
You're hitting it all. You're hitting it all. I think that the fact that it's almost like, we're sort of uninhibited at this point. Like, who gives a shit? Let's just do what makes what feels good and enjoy what we're doing and not overthink it. And I think that's sort of what you're hearing with that, with that 17-minute “Band In The Sky” in a square somewhere in Hartford.
So, does this give us any indication of what's next for the band from a songwriting standpoint? I mean, it certainly seems like we had some classic moe. tracks, some Nate Wilson stuff, some new stuff from you guys. As far as, like, what's in the works for forthcoming work, is it too soon to expect another studio offering from moe.?
Well, we did start working on new material, but I think it's a little bit too soon to expect any recorded versions of it anytime soon. But I think we'll probably stick with the tried-and-true method of playing it live for people and kind of hashing it out, maybe throw a couple unheard of tracks on the album. But right now, we're just in the stages of planning to plan. I want to go in the same direction and just keep pushing that kind of psychedelic, rocking vibe that we did with “Circle of Giants.”
Hell yeah. As far as any forecast for the coming year, it sounds like you guys – from the tour schedule, from moe.down – it looks like you're really planning on hitting 2026 pretty hard, which speaks to how you guys are feeling at the end of this year. What is the feeling inside the more the moe. organization with this ambitious schedule coming together for next year?
Excitement and getting our ducks in a row. Everyone's resting up. I got to get some carpal tunnel surgery so I can actually play these shows coming up. But, yeah, it's really cool to have a tour booked like that so far in advance and just put it out and have something to look forward to. [dogs barking] Oh, boy. We got somebody showing up, and the dogs are about to go nuts.
Okay, sounds like a good time to wrap things up.
Yeah. [laughs]
Just finally, my last question before I let you go- If you could say something to Rob Derhak 35 years ago that you've learned, what would you say to a young Rob?
Ah, God. Don't eat the gas station sushi when you're in Eerie.
Words to live by.
[laughs]
Rob, this was such a pleasure. Again, you guys have been a really big part of my year, and I cannot wait for more. Safe travels, good luck with the dogs, and I'll see you guys in Albany.
All right, man, take it easy. [dogs barking]
