Picture Show: moe.down 9 @ Snow Ridge

On labor day weekend Jeremy Gordon and Carla Danca headed to the ninth annual moe.down and filed this report on the festival...

Is there a way to better sum up a beautiful weekend in upstate NY than Abigail Washburn's proclamation to those gathered on the slope Saturday evening? "What a wonderful festival, where a band throws a party, invites all their friends, family, favorite musicians and the best fans to share the weekend." Even after a summer of soaring gas prices and packed with festivals, the moe.rons didn't hesitate to make the trek up to moe.down 9 at Snow Ridge Mountain in Turin, NY. The annual thank you party drew a wide assortment of sounds that brought fans young and old out to the main stage and beer tent set among the chair lifts and rolling slopes of the Tug Hill region of the Adirondacks that makes up moe.'s backyard. One difference between moe.down and most other festival this summer was apparent at the side stage; this was truly a show for the fans by the fans. In the beer tent, hand-picked new generation acts were given multiple sets to allow them to truly show off more than just a quick taste of their skills. U-Melt started the festival off on Friday evening with three sets including a tribute to Michael Jackson on his 50th birthday that included Billie Jean, Wanna be Starting Something and ended with the entire tent entranced into their own version of the Thriller video.

READ ON for more thoughts and photos from moe.down 9...