Over the weekend, moe. hosted their moe.down Underground event at Pelham, TN’s The Caverns. Shadowgrass opened on Friday, July 31, lespecial provided support duties on Saturday, August 1 and both shows leaned into the event’s festival-like vibe with some special musical surprises.

Fittingly, given the venue’s subterranean location, moe. kicked off their first set Friday with back-to-back versions of the Sticks and Stones track “Deep This Time” and The Conch cut “The Pit.” Soon after, the sextet also turned heads by busting out their cover of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” for the first time since October 30, 2021, marking only the fourth time they had played the classic hard-rock number live. Later in the show, they also nodded to their surroundings by opening their second set with a newer original, the Circle of Giants song “Bat Country.”

In addition to a proper two-set show in the cave, on Saturday moe. offered a bonus 2 pm acoustic spot in The Caverns’ Shady Grove performance space. The Buffalo, NY-bred act loaded their unique show with covers, including their take on Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and their second-ever stab at Old Crow Medicine Show’s sing-along “Wagon Wheel,” which they last played in Nashville, TN, on March 7, 2015. They also honored Jerry Garcia on his birthday with a version of the Grateful Dead classic “Casey Jones,” with drummer Vinnie Amico joining Al Schnier on the mic and Jim Loughlin moving behind the kit, and brought a fan named Bobby to the stage to sing the “half in the bag” line in “Moth” after Schnier invited moe. bassist Rob Derhak’s musician daughter out for the part and she was not there. Then, during their headlining show in the cave later that night, moe. welcomed lespecial guitarist Jonathan Grusauskas back to sit in on one of their showstoppers, “Opium.”

moe. will resume their collaborative moe.mentUM tour with Umphrey’s McGee at Grand Rapids, MI’s Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater on August 12. Meanwhile, lespecial will appear next at Livingston, KY’s Wonky Woods Festival, which will be held August 13-16.