Otisco, N.Y. — moe. opened a two -day stop at Wonderland Forest on Friday night, cranking out two sets. Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country opened the show.
moe., which formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989, is a jam rock group whose members all have roots in Upstate New York. Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, Vinnie Amico and Rob Derhak hail from the Utica area, and the group frequently performs across the region, including at Syracuse’s SAMMY Awards and their own music festival, known as moe.down.
Wonderland Forest opened last year and has held several concerts. At the start of this season, the venue’s owners sued the town, arguing that new local laws about limiting crowd size and noise levels targeted Wonderland specifically. The town supervisor has denied that.
The town and concert venue have agreed to temporary solutions as the festivals continue. The lawsuit is pending.
The venue is built on 400 acres of forest in the hills of Otisco, N.Y. It includes multiple stages, campgrounds, waterfalls and indoor/outdoor event spaces. Dan Mastronardi, the owner and talent buyer at The Westcott Theater, books the acts.
View photos from the show in the gallery above.