Phish in 2024: A Year in Review

Particular years stick out in the massive landscape of the great jam bands. In the case of the Grateful Dead, people often point to ‘72, ‘77, or ‘89 as peaks of their playing. With Phish, ‘95 and ‘97 are usually the first to come to mind. Looking back on Phish in 2024, and the case can be made that it ranks up as one of the finest years of their long career.

It’s pretty incredible that four guys that have been playing together for more than 40 years still have so much creativity in the tank. Even as they all reach their 60’s, it still feels like they’re living while they’re young. They might not be on the road as often as they used to be, but that’s hopefully adding to their overall longevity as a band for us to enjoy for years to come.

In total, Phish played 43 shows in 2024, with just the Summer standing as their only fully fledged tour, but several other runs, a new album, and few surprises along the way helped make the year one of their most eventful in recent memory.

Let’s dive into Phish in 2024.

Kicking Things off in Mexico

2024 came right off the heels of their legendary NYE 2023 show, where Gamehendge was performed for the first time since ‘94 and in its most fleshed out version ever, so fan hype was at an all time high as they began in the new year.

This year’s shows began with a four-night residency in Cancun, Mexico. The luxury vacation run has become an annual tradition, but the shows typically do not rank as best of any given year. However, in 2024, the band was clearly still riding high from the Gamehendge celebration and they produced some of the best shows to ever take place from those sandy beaches.

*Photo by Alive Coverage via* *Facebook*

Night one kicked off with a single-set warm up worth listening to, but by night two the valves were opening. A 20 minute “Birds of a Feather” into a dense “Axilla (Part II)” signaled they weren’t messing around. Set two kicked off appropriately with the underrated gem “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” into a relentless, 35-minute “A Wave of Hope”. Throw in a solid “Tweezer” and it was obvious Phish was feeling it.

Night three was equally excellent overall, but the major highlight of the run came from a sprawling “Chalk Dust Torture” that spent 40 minutes defying gravity in a wide-ranging improvisational odyssey. It’s the kind of jam that elevates an entire show into the stratosphere, where the waves of the ocean wash over the stars and everyone in attendance floats along with the current.

The final night also featured strong and patient jams, including a pretty sick “Bathtub Gin”, but a rare “Chalk Dust Torture Reprise” cemented the previous night’s main course as the highlight of the run. It might have been a vacation destination, but Phish absolutely put in the work to make everyone who made the trip happy.

The Sphere

In lieu of a Spring tour, the band instead pushed the limits of their visual presentation with a four-show run at The Sphere in Las Vegas in April. At the time, Phish was only the second band to play this new evolution of live music after U2 played a 40-night residency at the venue. Unlike U2, Phish opted instead for a single long weekend, and it quickly became the hottest ticket in town with resale tickets going for more than $1,000.

One of the many reasons so many of us love this band is their willingness to push the limits. They could’ve easily played four regular shows with added visuals from the expansive screen that surrounded the audience, but that wasn’t enough. Trey confirmed ahead of time that each show would have a theme tying them all together, because of course they would.

Chris Kuroda scaled down the lights to not distract from the screen, and the visuals that accompanied the music brought musical immersion to a new level. Psychedelic landscapes created awe-inspiring backdrops that tied together the songs, the themes, classic Phish iconography, and a few curveballs along the way.

As the shows progressed, the overarching theme revealed itself to be the states of matter. Night one was solids, followed by liquids, then gases, and finally plasma. Song choices across all four nights perfectly hit on all of these themes to create a one-of-a-kind run of shows that, like so many times before, felt excitingly new and yet completely natural.

The jam highlights throughout the run are so plentiful that picking superlatives would be an injustice to the whole experience. This was a singular vision of everything we love about Phish. An incredible run of shows where new connections in the music were forged and boundaries were shattered to create something entirely new, and yet fully Phish to the core.

A Busy Off Season

Even the off season of 2024 proved eventful in the world of Phish. Just before hitting the stage at The Sphere, the band announced their 16th studio album, Evolve, which dropped in July before the summer tour kicked off. Regular studio albums are an added bonus from a band that never rests on its laurels, and Evolve delivered a worthy entry into the canon with official versions of several songs that had already been in the live rotation for a couple of years. The release was promoted with a performance of the title track on Live with Jimmy Fallon and a short set for NPR’s Tiny Desk.

Phish might not have been touring, but the members (Trey most specifically) can’t stay away for long. Trey took his Classic TAB lineup around the northeast and for a 12 show tour of smaller rooms and theaters. He shares great chemistry with this lineup and the shows are worth hearing for any phan.

He capped off his summer side projects with two incredible orchestral performances in June in Virginia and Boston, his first in 11 years. I wrote about my experience at the Wolf Trap show here, and what a night that was. He also sat in with Billy Joel one night at MSG, surely becoming Joel’s heir apparent to be the arena’s favorite musician, and helped induct Steely Dan into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

*Photo by Andrew Blackstein via* *Facebook*

Mike got in on the side project fun as well. He took his solo band on the road in June for a series of headline gigs in small clubs, plus a few big rooms while opening for Vampire Weekend during their West Coast stretch for the summer. Mike even popped in for a few guest spots during VW’s sets during the run. He also made numerous guest appearances as well, including a night with Marco Benevento from JRAD, plus popping up with various artists local to Vermont. Fishman and Page largely stayed out of the spotlight until the Summer.

Summer Tour

The annual tradition of Summer tour finally kicked off in mid-July. 26 shows were set to take place across 9 stops. The days of them hitting as many locations as possible seem to be behind them in favor of more economical, multi-night runs spread across their favorite towns and venues. A sore spot for some phans, but a move that certainly makes sense with the current costs of touring and the band’s age. They’re making less of a footprint and investing in longevity by spending less energy travelling.

The new touring model seems to be paying off, because Summer 2024 was unquestionably one of their most consistent tours in recent memory. Hardly a low point to be found anywhere and some incredible highs along the way.

While Mansfield and Uncasville provided plenty of great groves across the first five shows, the first major stand out of the tour went down at night two of Alpine when they dove deep into a 40-minute “Simple” of epic proportions. The multi-faceted jam travelled through at least four distinct sections without a misstep anywhere to be found, perfectly encapsulating the modern jam style in the longest ever performance of the song. History made.

They were clearly in a jamming mood most of the tour, because just four nights later in St. Louis, they went the distance again with a 40-minute “Tweezer”. A deep, exploratory journey of melodic genius full of peaks, patience, and a climax so epic the crowd responded with a full minute of rapturous applause.

Other stand out moments include the nearly hour long combo of “Ghost” > “Soul Planet” at night three of Deer Creek, and the sit ins from Billy Strings at his hometown shows in Grand Rapids, where he fit right in with some excellent jams and highlighted some increasingly rare instances of bluegrass Phish.

These moments were indeed fantastic, and the whole tour was full of well-played material, but the best was still yet to come out of the woods of Dover when Mondegreen brought the return of festival Phish.

I was lucky enough to attend Mondegreen myself, and the magic that unfolded in those woods is too much to include in this piece. I’ll be offering my retrospect of those shows separately in the near future, but let’s just say Mondegreen was unquestionably a career highlight with four incredible days of love and music. For now, let’s move on to another annual Phish tradition.

We Love Dick’s

The summer wouldn’t be complete without the Dick’s Labor Day run. After a couple of weeks off following Mondegreen, the Summer tour officially came to a close with a four-night run at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in Colorado.

The first night kicked off with a jammed out “Cities” to signal the peaks of the summer weren’t finished yet. Although some technical issues with Trey’s speakers created some frustration, set two offered plenty of greatness between an extended “Sigma Oasis” giving way to a cloudy “Pillow Jets”, with the later cementing itself one of the jam highlights of the newest album all year long.

Night two made a big impact with some huge bust outs. “Guelah Papyrus” and “Strange Design” saw stage time after gaps of more than 100 shows since last time played. Then the second set kicked off with another 2024 installment of massive “Chalk Dust Torture” jams. This one came close to the heights reached on the shores of Mexico, appropriately followed by impactful versions of “Sand” and “Ruby Waves”. The bustouts continued into the encore with “Fee” making its first performance in over a year, and things wrapped up with a huge exclamation point with a show closing “You Enjoy Myself”.

The following night was nothing to sneeze at, featuring great versions of “Gin”, “Kill Devil Falls”, and “What’s Going Through Your Mind” (WGTYM) further standing out one of the year’s great additions to the jam catalog after an epic showing at Mondegreen.

Night four marked the end of an amazing Summer in style. “Dog Log” opened the night in its first performance in 464 shows, and “My Friend, My Friend” highlighted the first set’s biggest jam with exploratory gusto. The second set carried on with a powerful version of “Set Your Soul Free” into a crowd-pleasing “Tweezer”. The jams were plentiful, but solid versions of “Light”, “A Life Beyond the Dream”, and “More” painted the picture of what makes this band so important to us: they create stories right before our eyes. Stories of existence, fulfillment, and venturing into the unknown; preparing us for whatever life brings our way.

Summer tour officially came to an end after a thunderous version of Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” in the encore, the first in 453 shows. Listen to the recording and you can hear the energy of the crowd hit an absolute fever pitch. Even after four straight days of shows and an entire Summer of epic moments, this band still knows how to keep everyone guessing and rocking out at the same time.

Mockingbird Benefit Run

After such an epic Summer, fans were not-so-patiently waiting for a Fall tour to keep the good times rolling. Rumors were swirling, but the only shows that manifested were for a Mockingbird Foundation Benefit to be held over three nights at the MVP Arena in Albany, NY.

On the day of the first show, the world learned the devastating news that Phil Lesh had passed away. Tributes immediately flooded in from all corners of fandom to remember the incredible body work that Phil left behind with the Grateful Dead. Phish reciprocated with their own tribute by performing “Box of Rain” as the opener in Albany. Dead covers are a rare occurrence for Phish, and this class act provided another reminder that this world of music we love would’ve never happened without the work of Phil and the Dead as a whole.

Mike paid further tributes throughout the night, sporting Phil’s trademark wristbands and throwing in teases from “Shakedown Street” in “Free” and “The Howling” as well as “I Know You Rider” in “Tweezer”. Overall, the night marked a solid edition in 2024’s long list of great shows. Same can be said for night two.

The major centerpiece of the run arrived on night there with yet another installment in the year’s epic performances of “Chalk Dust Torture”. The 23-minute excursion didn’t waste a single second as the band triumphantly navigated cosmic peaks and moody sections. Everyone operated in perfect orbit to hit that supreme space of crowd and band connectivity with equal parts bliss and terror. One of the many masterpieces forged in this great year, and proving the old adage from the days of The Dead to never miss a Sunday show.

New Year’s Eve

We wrap things up back where the story started, as we arrive at the final tradition of the year by celebrating New Year’s Eve with a four-night run at the world’s most famous arena and Phish mainstay, Madison Square Garden. Night one was somewhat marred by phans, primarily because of Trey’s voice showing signs of a possible cold. Overall, it proved a decent warm up to the run, featuring a standout version of “I Always Wanted it This Way” and a bust out of “Round Room” after a 322-show gap.

However, night two though brought the goods to say the least. The first set featured a jammed out “Prince Caspian” for the ages, and YEM came in very early sporting an unusual transition into “Ghost” to wrap up a very good first set.

Then set two came out swinging by opening with “Gin” into a monstrous “Ruby Waves”. With another close to 40-minute version added to the year’s list of massive jams, this one held nothing back. Multiple sections weaved in and out of big rock themes and spacey atmospheres with expert precision. A dynamic exploration of the depths and heights of the entire Phish spectrum. Wondrous in its execution and full of life, it proves once again this band’s capabilities to keep us balanced on the edges of our seats with our heads in the clouds.

Night three kept the momentum up. Between a standout “Wolfman’s Brother” and a “Fluffhead” fake out to close the first set, big jams from “Down with Disease” and “Tweezer” in the second, and plenty of setlist highlights throughout, this run just kept on giving.

As the climax of the final show of the year approached, speculation was rampant on how they would follow up on the Gamehendge blow out from the previous year, as well as put the finishing touches on a fantastic year since then.

The answer was naturally unpredictable in suitable Phish fashion. Following two sets of plenty of classic songs and well played jams, especially in “My Friend, My Friend”, the pieces came together when the band moved into “Pillow Jets”. As one of the year’s standout new songs, it made a perfect contender for the beloved gag.

As the performance unfolded, the rafters revealed the secret. A mysterious face came down over the stage and robed figures flanked around the band, providing otherworldly images and majestic harmonies over a soaring rendition of the song. Trey eventually revealed the inspiration for the gag and song alike came from a Kenyan art installation that outside of The Met during the covid pandemic titled, The New Ones Will Free Us. Inspired by those beautiful statues, they descended into MSG on pillow jets of sound, and lifted everyone listening to the cosmos with regal opulence.

The band kept everyone guessing after that magnificent display. After ringing in the New Year with “Auld Lang Syne”, they shifted into the other stand out from the year’s new setlist additions. WGTYM kept the mysterious figures on stage and gave way to an electronic jam blowout unlike anything we’ve ever heard from Phish.

The sequence resembled something that sounded more like The Disco Biscuits rather than Phish, perhaps we should nickname it the “Phishco” jam. For the 10 minutes out of WGTYM, MSG became a massive rave, weaving in and out of upbeat dance beats and quotes from various Phish classics. It was well outside of the box for the band, but that’s where they shine the most; when they subvert expectations to create something entirely new.

The rest of the show unfolded in classic Phish style with a mix of old school song choices and 3.0 favorites. They put the icing on the New Year’s cake in the encore by busting out the singular omission from the previous year’s Gamehendge extravaganza, “Icculus”, which was cut at the last minute due to logistical issues with the stage show, but serendipitously created a full circle (or donut) effect between both performances, perhaps making 2024 the ultimate Phish sandwich. Tweeprise wrapped everything up in suitably epic fashion.

A Year to Remember

As we look back on this incredible year for Phish, we should feel so fortunate that this band, who has provided countless moments of musical greatness over 40+ years, continues to strive for ultimate fan satisfaction. Complacency will never be an option. Neither for the band, or the many phans ready to follow along every step of the way.

You’ll always have the modern day detractors, but most phans would have a hard time arguing that this year doesn't stand out in their immense catalog. At its worst, 2024 was just another year of great performances. At its best, 2024 represents a modern day Phish renaissance.

2025 has a lot to live up to after a year like that, but something tells me this band will be up to the challenge like always.

Featured photo by Rene Huemer via Facebook