Hippie jam bands and their fans have long known that "kind green stuff" comes in packages. But who knew they were talking about dollar bills and summer tours?

With Blues Traveler rejoining H.O.R.D.E., Furthur set for round three, and the Widespread Panic-led Travelin' Light festival kicking off later this month, it looks like traditional grassroots values have been replaced by an "every hippie for himself" approach. The latest outcropping, a project partially spearheaded by Albany, N.Y.-based Moe, brings the number of jam band package tours to a total of four.

Originally slated to join Widespread Panic's itinerant party this summer, Moe and Boulder bluegrass noodlers Leftover Salmon have opted instead to form their own sonic cirque du veggie burrito dubbed the Hoo Doo Bash tour.

Strangefolk and String Cheese Incident, two Jerry-come-latelys to the national scene, will round out the package, and though Moe and Leftover Salmon are considerably more established, all four bands will share the headline slot and enjoy equal stage time.

According to Moe manager Jon Topper, that translates into "between one and two hours per band, depending on the venue and the day of the week."

Stage time (or lack thereof), Topper went on to explain, was the primary reason behind Moe's decision to turn down Widespread Panic's invitation. "We wanted to play longer sets with other bands whose fan bases are more or less the same size as ours," he told JAMTV on Friday. "Widespread is a level above moe. They've been at it longer, and in some southern markets can draw more than 15,000 people."

Topper stressed that moe. was honored by Widespread Panic's invitation, but ultimately felt they had to pursue their own tour. "We were excited when Panic offered us dates, but as time went on their tour was just not turning out to be what we signed on for. I hope the Panic guys understand; I believe they went through the same thing with H.O.R.D.E. last year."

There are no hard feelings between the bands. In fact, Topper says moe. "would still like to play with them, and are already sharing a bill in California at the Mountain Aire Music Festival on May 23."

The Hoo Doo Bash begins in Stanhope, N.J.. on June 3, and will continue through Labor Day ending on the West Coast. The full itinerary is still being worked out; no tour dates are currently available. (Isaac Josephson)