Phish#Fan community

Phish was formed at the University of Vermont (UVM) in 1983 by guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth, bassist Mike Gordon, and drummer Jon Fishman. Anastasio and Fishman had met that October, after Anastasio overheard Fishman playing drums in his dormitory room, and asked if he and Holdsworth could jam with him.{{cite book |last=Puterbaugh |first=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=19–20, 23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish&pg=PA19 }} Gordon met the trio shortly thereafter, having answered a want-ad for a bass guitarist that Anastasio had posted around the university.{{cite book |last=Puterbaugh |first=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish&pg=PA19 }}

The new group performed their first concert at Harris Millis Cafeteria at the University of Vermont on December 2, 1983, where they played a set of classic rock covers, including two songs by the Grateful Dead.{{cite web |title=Dec 02, 1983 Setlist - Phish.net |url=http://phish.net/setlists/phish-december-02-1983-harris-millis-cafeteria-university-of-vermont-burlington-vt-usa.html |website=phish.net |access-date=December 5, 2019}}{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=9780306819209 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=%22blackwood%20convention%22%20phish&pg=PA24 }} The band performed one more concert in 1983, and then did not perform again for nearly a year, stemming from Anastasio's suspension from the university following a prank he had pulled with a friend.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=25–26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish&pg=PA25 }}

Anastasio returned to his hometown of Princeton, New Jersey following the prank, and reconnected with his childhood friend Tom Marshall; The duo began a songwriting collaboration and recorded material that would appear on the Bivouac Jaun demo tape.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=26–27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish&pg=PA26 }}{{cite web |title=FAQ - Phish.net |url=http://www.phish.net/faq/band-history |website=Phish.net |access-date=February 17, 2019}} Marshall and Anastasio have subsequently composed the majority of Phish's original songs throughout their career.{{cite web |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=Tom Marshall: Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-marshall-mn0000612910/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=July 19, 2020 }} Anastasio returned to Burlington in late 1984, and resumed performing with Gordon, Holdsworth and Fishman.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=October 26, 2010 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-0-306-81920-9 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&dq=phish%20name%201984&pg=PA40}} The quartet named themselves Phish in October 1984, shortly before they performed their first concert together following Anastasio's return to UVM.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=41–42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish%20name&pg=PA41 }} Anastasio designed the band's logo, which featured the group's name inside a stylized fish. The band's members have given several different origins for the name Phish. In Parke Puterbaugh's 2009 book Phish: The Biography, the origin is given as a variation on phshhhh, an onomatopoeia of the sound of a brush on a snare drum. In the 2004 official documentary Specimens of Beauty, Anastasio said the band was also named after Fishman, whose nickname is "Fish." In a 1996 interview, Fishman denied that the band was named after him, and said the onomatopoeic inspiration behind the name was the sound of an airplane taking off.{{cite web |last1=Rossi |first1=Christophe |title=Jon Fishman: The Retracted Colorado Interview |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/jon-fishman-the-retracted-colorado-interview/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=August 3, 2020 |date=September 6, 2011}}

In late 1984, Phish began to play regularly at Nectar's bar and restaurant in downtown Burlington, and performed dozens of concerts across multiple residencies through March 1989.{{cite web |last1=Kahn |first1=Andy |title=Phish Plays Nectar's For 1st Time On This Date In 1984 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-nectars-1st-time-1984 |website=JamBase |access-date=December 2, 2023}}{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=Hear Jon Fishman's Comical Debut Of "If I Only Had A Brain" At Phish's Final Nectar's Run, This Day In '89 |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/cool-shit/phish-nectars-brain-1989/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=March 12, 2018}} The band's 1992 album A Picture of Nectar was named in honor of the bar's owner, Nector Rorris, and its cover features his face superimposed onto an orange.{{cite web |last1=Hallenbeck |first1=Brent |title=Life begins at 40 for Nectar's in Burlington |url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/entertainment/2015/01/21/life-begins-nectars-burlington/22122303/ |website=The Burlington Free Press |access-date=July 19, 2020}}

The band would collaborate with percussionist Marc Daubert, a friend of Anastasio's, in the fall of 1984.{{cite web |title=Hidden Track interview: Marc Daubert Has No Regrets |url=https://glidemagazine.com/141735/hidden-track-interview-former-phish-percussionist-marc-daubert-has-no-regrets/ |website=Glide Magazine |date=January 13, 2009 |access-date=July 19, 2020}} Daubert ceased performing with the band in early 1985.{{cite web |last1=Kahn |first1=Andy |title=Page McConnell Makes Phish Debut In 1985 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/page-mcconnell-makes-phish-debut-1985 |website=JamBase |access-date=April 22, 2020 |date=May 3, 2016}} Keyboardist Page McConnell met Phish in early 1985, when he arranged for them to play a spring concert at Goddard College, the small university he attended in Plainfield, Vermont.{{cite book |last=Puterbaugh |first=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |url=https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute/page/45 45] |quote=phish mcconnell joined. }} He began performing with the band as a guest shortly thereafter, and made his live debut during the third set of their May 3, 1985, concert at UVM's Redstone Campus.{{cite web|url=http://phish.net/setlists/1985.html#1985-01-01|title=Phish setlists|publisher=Phish.net|access-date=2011-05-28}} In the summer of 1985, Phish went on a short hiatus while Anastasio and Fishman vacationed in Europe; during this time, McConnell offered to join the band permanently, and moved to Burlington to learn their repertoire from Gordon.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish%20%22two%20guitar%20band%22&pg=PA46 }} McConnell officially joined Phish as a full-time band member in September 1985.{{cite web |title=Sep 26, 1985 Setlist - Phish.net |url=http://phish.net/setlists/phish-september-26-1985-wruv-radio-burlington-vt-usa.html |website=phish.net |access-date=October 15, 2018 }}

Phish performed with a five-piece lineup for about six months after McConnell joined, a period which ended when Holdsworth quit the group in March 1986 following a religious conversion.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish%20mcconnell%20joined&pg=PA49 }} Anastasio and Fishman relocated in mid-1986 to Goddard College after a recommendation from McConnell.{{cite news |last1=Ward |first1=Justin |title=Watch a Young Trey Anastasio Give His Goddard College Graduation Speech |url=https://livemusicblog.com/news/trey-anastasio-phish-goddard-college-graduation-speech/ |website=Live Music Blog |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=August 30, 2019}} Phish distributed at least six experimental self-titled cassettes during this era, including The White Tape.{{cite web |title=The White Tape - Phish.net |url=https://phish.net/album/the-white-tape |website=phish.net |access-date=July 19, 2020}}

While based at Goddard College, Phish began to collaborate with fellow students Richard "Nancy" Wright and Jim Pollock.{{cite book|last1=Jarnow|first1=Jesse|title=Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America|date=2016|publisher=Da Capo Press|pages=199–220}} Pollock and Wright were musical collaborators who made experimental recordings on multi-track cassettes, and had been introduced to Phish through McConnell, who co-hosted a radio program on WGDR with Pollock.{{cite web |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=Everyone Knew Him as Nancy: Richard Wright and the Old, Weird Phish |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/everyone-knew-him-as-nancy-richard-wright-and-the-old-weird-phish/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=March 28, 2019 |date=August 15, 2012}} Phish adopted a number of Nancy's songs into their own set, including "Halley's Comet", "I Didn't Know", and "Dear Mrs. Reagan", the latter song being written by Nancy and Pollock. In his book Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America, music journalist Jesse Jarnow observed that Wright and his music were highly influential to Phish's early style and experimental sound. Wright amicably ended his association with Phish in 1989, but Pollock has continued to collaborate with Phish over the years, designing some of their album covers and concert posters.

By 1985, the group had encountered Burlington luthier Paul Languedoc, who would eventually design custom instruments for Anastasio and Gordon.{{cite web |title=FAQ: Band history |url=https://phish.net/faq/band-history |website=phish.net |access-date=July 19, 2020}} In October 1986, he began working as their sound engineer.{{cite web |title=Wed, 1986-10-15 Hunt's |url=https://phish.com/tours/dates/wed-1986-10-15-hunts/ |website=Phish.com |access-date=July 19, 2020}} Since then, Languedoc has built exclusively for the two, and his designs and traditional wood choices have given Phish a unique instrumental identity.{{cite web |url=http://phish.net/faq/languedoc |title=Paul Languedoc |work=FAQ Files |publisher=Phish.net |access-date=2011-02-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724005501/http://phish.net/faq/languedoc |archive-date=2011-07-24 }}

As his senior project for Goddard College, Anastasio penned The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday, a nine-song progressive rock concept album that would become Phish's second studio experiment.{{cite web |last1=Frye |first1=Cory |title=Floating with the flock: Three days among the faithful at the first Phish Studies Conference |url=https://www.gazettetimes.com/news/floating-with-the-flock-three-days-among-the-faithful-at/article_44d07050-925a-591d-8923-7a9c288f645b.html |website=Corvallis Gazette Times |date=June 2, 2019 |access-date=March 1, 2020 }} Recorded between 1987 and 1988, it was submitted in July of that year, accompanied by a written thesis. The song cycle that developed from the project – known as Gamehendge – grew to include an additional eight songs. The band performed the suite in concert on six occasions: in 1988, 1991, 1993, twice in 1994, and in 2023, without replicating the song list.{{cite web |url=http://phish.net/faq/tmwsiy |title=What is The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday? |work=FAQ Files |publisher=Phish.net |access-date=2011-02-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017210913/http://phish.net/faq/tmwsiy |archive-date=2010-10-17 }} The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday has never received an official release, but a bootleg tape has circulated for decades, and songs such as "Wilson" and "The Lizards" remain concert staples for the band.{{cite web |title=On The Download: The Phish Studio Albums, Part 1 |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/entertainment/celebrity/On_The_Download__The_Phish_Studio_Albums__Part_1.html |website=NBC4 Washington |date=January 31, 2009 |access-date=October 1, 2018 }}

Beginning in the spring of 1988, members of the band began practicing in earnest, sometimes locking themselves in a room and jamming for hours on end. One such jam took place at Anastasio's apartment, with a second at Paul Languedoc's house in August 1989.{{cite web|url=http://phish.net/songs/the-oh-kee-pa-ceremony | title= The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony |work=Discography |publisher=Phish.net|access-date=2011-02-09}} They called these jam sessions "Oh Kee Pa Ceremonies", a reference to the film A Man Called Horse.{{cite web |last1=Silberman |first1=Steve |title=Happy Birthday Trey Anastasio: Fall 1994 Interview With Steve Silberman |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-trey-anastasio-interview-fall-1994-steve-silberman |website=JamBase |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=September 30, 2018}} In July 1988, the band performed their first concerts outside of the northeastern United States, when they embarked on a seven-date tour in Colorado.{{cite web |last1=Greenhaus |first1=Mike |title=Rocky Mountain High: The Untold Story of Phish's Archival Release, _Colorado '88_ (Relix Revisited) |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/rocky-mountain-high-the-untold-story-of-phish-s-archival-release-colorado-8/ |website=Relix |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=June 21, 2011}} These shows are excerpted on their 2006 live compilation Colorado '88.

On January 26, 1989, Phish played the Paradise Rock Club in Boston; the owners of the club had never heard of Phish and refused to book them, so the band rented the club for the night.{{cite web |last1=Morse |first1=Steve |title=Twenty years later, Phish still moves against the current |url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2003/11/30/twenty_years_later_phish_still_moves_against_the_current |website=Boston.com Archive |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=November 30, 2003}} The show sold out due to the caravan of fans that had traveled to see the band. The concert was Phish's breakthrough on the northeastern regional music circuit, and the band began to book concerts at other large rock clubs, theaters, and small auditoriums throughout the area, such as the Somerville Theatre, Worcester Memorial Auditorium and Wetlands Preserve.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=82–86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish++1989+paradise&pg=PA82 }} That spring, the band self-released their debut full-length studio album, Junta, and sold copies on cassette tape at their concerts.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819476 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute/page/88 88] |url=https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute |url-access=registration |quote=phish junta. }} The album includes a studio recording of the epic "You Enjoy Myself", which is considered to be the band's signature song.{{cite web |last1=Rolez |first1=Chez |title=Morning After Phish: Halfway Between Erie And Pittsburgh |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/reviews/morning-after-phish-halfway-between-erie-and-pittsburgh/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=June 24, 2012}}{{cite web |title=Pharewell My Friend: Phish Says Farewell At Coventry |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/pharewell-my-friend-phish-says-farewell-at-coventry |website=JamBase |access-date=October 1, 2018 |date=August 24, 2004}} Later in 1989, the band hired Chris Kuroda as their lighting director. Kuroda subsequently became well known for his artistic light shows at the group's concerts.{{cite web |last1=Greenhaus |first1=Mike |title=Chris Kuroda: Visual Vocabularies |url=https://jambands.com/features/2016/07/25/chris-kuroda-visual-vocabularies/ |website=Jambands.com |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=July 25, 2016}} A profile on Phish appeared in the October 1989 issue of the Deadhead magazine Relix, which marked the first time the band had been covered in a major national music periodical.{{cite web |last1=Skidmore |first1=Mick |title=Too New To Be Known: Phish (Relix Revisited Oct. '89) |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/too-new-to-be-known-phish-relix-revisited-oct-89/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=August 5, 2020 |date=October 1989}}

By late 1990, Phish's concerts were becoming more and more intricate, often making a consistent effort to involve the audience in the performance. In a special "secret language",{{cite web |url=http://phish.net/songs/secret-language-instructions |title=Secret Language Instructions|access-date=2011-02-09 |work=FAQ Files |publisher=Phish.net}} the audience would react in a certain manner based on a particular musical cue from the band. For instance, if Anastasio "teased" a motif from The Simpsons theme song, the audience would yell, "D'oh!" in imitation of {{Audio|PhishSimpsonsCue002.ogg|Homer Simpson}}. In 1992, Phish introduced a collaboration between audience and band called the "Big Ball Jam" in which each band member would throw a large beach ball into the audience and play a note each time his ball was hit. In so doing, the audience was helping to create an original composition.{{cite web |title=This Video Of Bill Clinton Synchronized To Phish's 'Big Ball Jam' Is Amazing |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/this-video-of-bill-clinton-synchronized-to-phishs-big-ball-jam-is-amazing/ |website=Live for Live Music|access-date=April 18, 2020 |date=July 29, 2016}} On occasion, performances of "You Enjoy Myself" and "Mike's Song" involved Gordon and Anastasio performing synchronized maneuvers and jumping on mini-trampolines while simultaneously playing their instruments.{{cite web|url=https://phish.net/faq/onstage-antics| title= Phish On-stage Antics|work=FAQ Files |publisher=Phish.net| access-date=2011-02-09}} Fishman would also regularly step out from behind his drum kit during concerts to sing cover songs, which were often punctuated by him playing an Electrolux vacuum cleaner like an instrument.{{cite web |title=Vacuum Solo History - Phish.net |url=http://phish.net/song/vacuum-solo/history |website=phish.net |access-date=October 6, 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Rossi |first1=Christophe |title=Phish Stories: An Interview with Jon Fishman (Relix Revisited) |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/phish-stories-an-interview-with-jon-fishman-relix-revisited |website=Relix Media |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=February 24, 2011}} The band released their second album, Lawn Boy, in September 1990 on Absolute A Go Go, a small independent label that had a distribution deal with the larger Rough Trade Records.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819476 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute/page/97 97] |url=https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute |url-access=registration |quote=phish junta. }} The album had been recorded the previous year, after the band had won studio time at engineer Dan Archer's Archer Studios when they came in first place at an April 1989 Battle of the Bands competition in Burlington.{{cite web |title=Phish 'Lawn Boy' Deluxe 2-LP Vinyl Available For Record Store Day |url=http://phish.com/news/phish-lawn-boy-deluxe-2-lp-vinyl-available-for-record-store-day/ |website=Phish |date=March 4, 2013 |access-date=September 23, 2018}}

Phish, along with Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and the Beatles, was one of the first bands to have a Usenet newsgroup, rec.music.phish, which launched in 1992.{{cite web |last1=Arnum |first1=Eric |title=Digital Flashback: Phishing For Tapes On Web |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/k9ad1u/digital-flashback-phishing-for-tapes-on-web |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731154854/https://www.mtv.com/news/k9ad1u/digital-flashback-phishing-for-tapes-on-web |archive-date=July 31, 2023 |date=March 30, 2000 |url-status=dead}} Aware of the band's growing popularity, Elektra Records signed them that year after they were recommended to the record label by A&R representative Sue Drew.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Sue Drew Who Brought Phish To Elektra Chats With Phishbase |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/sue-drew-brought-phish-elektra-chats-phishbase |website=JamBase |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=December 20, 2017}} In the summer of 1991, the band embarked on a 14-date tour of the eastern United States accompanied by a three-piece horn section dubbed the Giant Country Horns.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Giant Country Horns Talk Formation, Phish & Twiddle New Year's Eve In Albany |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/giant-country-horns-talk-formation-phish-twiddle-new-years-eve-albany |website=JamBase |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=December 28, 2017}} In August of that year, Phish played an outdoor concert at their friend Amy Skelton's horse farm in Auburn, Maine that acted as a prototype for their later all-day festival events.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish&pg=PA5 }}

In 1992, the band released their third studio album, A Picture of Nectar, their first release for the major label Elektra. Subsequently, the label also reissued the band's first two albums. Later in 1992, Phish participated in the first annual H.O.R.D.E. festival, which provided them with their first national tour of major amphitheaters. The lineup, among others, included Phish, Blues Traveler, the Spin Doctors, and Widespread Panic.{{cite web |last1=Budnick |first1=Dean |title=H.O.R.D.E. Core (25 Years Later) |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/horde_core_25_years_later7181/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=May 2, 2017}} That summer, the band toured Europe with the Violent Femmes and later toured Europe and the US with Santana.{{cite web |title=August 1992 |url=https://phish.com/band/august-1992/ |website=Phish |access-date=August 30, 2019}} Throughout the latter tour, Carlos Santana regularly invited some or all of the members of Phish to jam with his band during their headlining performances.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=9780306819476 |page=107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zyoeq86UV0C&q=phish%20santana%20hose&pg=PA107 }} The band ended 1992 with a New Year's Eve performance at the Matthews Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, a performance that was simulcast throughout the Boston area by radio station WBCN. The concert was filled with several new "secret language" cues they had taught their audience to deliberately confuse radio listeners.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Pranks Throughout The Years |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-pranks-throughout-years |website=JamBase |access-date=October 14, 2018 |date=April 1, 2018}}

Phish began headlining major amphitheaters in the summer of 1993.{{cite web |last1=Mervis |first1=Scott |title=A tale of 2 bands from the H.O.R.D.E.: Phish and the Dave Matthews Band |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2009/06/18/A-tale-of-2-bands-from-the-H-O-R-D-E-Phish-and-the-Dave-Matthews-Band/stories/200906180462 |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=July 19, 2020 }} That year, the group released their fourth album, Rift, a concept album which featured a cover painted by David Welker that referenced almost all of the songs on the record.{{cite web |title=Fast Enough For You? Looking Back on 25 Years of Phish's _Rift_ – Relix Media |url=https://relix.com/blogs/detail/fast_enough_for_you_looking_back_on_25_years_of_phishs_rift/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=October 23, 2018 |date=February 2, 2018}} The album was the band's first to appear on the Billboard 200 album chart, debuting at No. 51 in February 1993.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History: Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/tlp/ |magazine=Billboard |date=January 22, 2015 |access-date=October 13, 2018}}{{cite magazine |title=Top 200 Albums {{!}} Billboard 200 chart |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1993-02-20 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=October 13, 2018}}

In March 1994, the band released their fifth studio album Hoist. The album featured an array of guest performers, including country singer Alison Krauss, banjoist Béla Fleck, former Sly & The Family Stone member Rose Stone, actor and trombonist Jonathan Frakes, and the horn section of R&B group Tower of Power.{{cite web |title=Hoist Vinyl Announced For Record Store Day |url=https://phish.com/news/hoist-vinyl-announced-for-record-store-day/ |website=Phish.com |date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=July 19, 2020}} To promote the album, Gordon directed the band's only official music video, for its first single "Down with Disease".{{cite web |last1=Rothman |first1=Robin A. |title=Phish flicks to debut at SXSW |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1433168/phish-flicks-to-debut-at-sxsw/ |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520040522/http://www.mtv.com/news/1433168/phish-flicks-to-debut-at-sxsw/ |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |pages=dead |date=March 3, 2000}} "Down with Disease" became a minor hit on rock radio in the United States, and was the band's first song to appear on a Billboard music chart when it peaked at No. 33 on the magazine's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart that summer.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/rtt/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 22, 2018}} To further promote Hoist, the band released an experimental short-subject documentary called Tracking, also directed by Gordon, which depicted the recording sessions for the album.

Foreshadowing their future tradition of festivals, Phish coupled camping with their 1994 summer tour finale at Sugarbush North in Warren, Vermont, that show eventually being released as Live Phish Volume 2.{{cite web |last1=Barthel |first1=Mike |title=Flying Through The Canyon: Live Phish 01-05 |url=https://jambands.com/features/2001/10/25/flying-through-the-canyon-live-phish-01-05/ |website=Jambands |access-date=July 19, 2020 |date=October 25, 2001}} On Halloween of that year, the group promised to don a fan-selected "musical costume" by playing an entire album from another band. After an extensive mail-based poll, Phish performed the Beatles' White Album as the second of their three sets at the Glens Falls Civic Center in upstate New York.{{cite web |last1=Plotnicki |first1=Gideon|title=Looking Back At Phish's Musical Costumes From Halloweens Past |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/phish-halloween-musical-costumes-2019/ |website=L4LM |access-date=December 11, 2019 |date=October 31, 2019}} The "musical costume" concept subsequently became a recurring part of Phish's fall tours, with the band playing a different album whenever they had a concert scheduled for Halloween night.

In October 1994, Crimes of the Mind, the debut album by Anastasio's friend and collaborator Steve "The Dude of Life" Pollak, was released by Elektra Records; The album, which had been recorded in 1991, was billed to "The Dude of Life and Phish" and features all four members of Phish acting as Pollak's backing band.{{cite web |title=Crimes Of The Mind (The Dude of Life and Phish) |url=http://phish.com/release/crimes-of-the-mind-the-dude-of-life-and-phish/ |website=Phish |access-date=October 12, 2018}}{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819476 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute/page/101 101] |url=https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute |url-access=registration |quote=phish junta. }}

File:At_the_rock_and_roll_hall_of_fame.jpg in Cleveland, Ohio]]

On December 30, 1994, the band made their first appearance on national network television when they performed "Chalk Dust Torture" on Late Night with David Letterman.{{cite web |title=Letterman Music Files {{!}} Phish Through The Years |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/letterman-music-files-phish-through-the-years |website=JamBase |access-date=September 20, 2018 |date=May 20, 2015}} The band would go on to appear on the program seven more times before David Letterman's retirement as host in 2015. For their 1994 New Years Run, Phish played the Civic Centers in Philadelphia and Providence as well as sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden, which marked their debut performances at both venues.{{cite web |last1=Boivin |first1=Ben |title=Unwrapping the Old Testament of Phish: New Year's Eve 1995, Live from Madison Square Garden – NYS Music |url=https://nysmusic.com/2020/06/15/unwrapping-the-old-testament-of-phish-new-years-eve-1995-live-from-madison-square-garden/ |website=NYSMusic |date=June 15, 2020 |access-date=July 19, 2020}}{{cite web |title=Sat, 1994-12-31 Boston Garden |url=https://phish.com/tours/dates/sat-1994-12-31-boston-garden |website=Phish.com |access-date=July 19, 2020}} For the December 31 show at the Boston Garden, the band rode around the arena in a float shaped like a hot dog. The stunt was reprised at their 1999 New Year's Eve concert before the hot dog was donated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Phish Revives Hot Dog Stunt on New Year's Eve – Jambands |url=https://jambands.com/news/2011/01/01/phish-revives-hot-dog-stunt-on-new-year-s-eve/ |website=Jambands |access-date=October 1, 2018 |date=January 1, 2011}}{{cite web |title=Phish float donated to Rock Hall |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/620287/phish-float-donated-to-rock-hall/ |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524004628/http://www.mtv.com/news/620287/phish-float-donated-to-rock-hall/ |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |date=January 7, 2000 |url-status=dead}} At the end of 1994, Phish appeared on Pollstar's list of the highest grossing concert tours in the United States for the first time, as the 32nd highest grossing act, with $10.3 million in ticket sales.{{cite news |last1=Harrington |first1=Richard |title=The Road Warriors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/01/04/the-road-warriors/20eda2b3-653b-4653-9397-c3cc5bdebe4a/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=February 21, 2022 |date=January 4, 1995}}

Following the death of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia in the summer of 1995 and the appearance of "Down with Disease" on Beavis and Butt-Head, the band experienced a surge in the growth of their fan base and an increased awareness in popular culture.{{cite web |last1=Ehrbar |first1=Joe |title=What's A Deadhead To Do? Many Are Turning To Phish {{!}} The Spokesman-Review |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/oct/06/whats-a-deadhead-to-do-many-are-turning-to-phish/ |website=The Spokesman |date=October 6, 1995 |access-date=April 18, 2020}} In their tradition of playing a well-known album by another band for Halloween, Phish contracted a full horn section for their performance of The Who's Quadrophenia in 1995.{{cite web |last1=McKeough |first1=Kevin |title=Phish does the Who |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-11-01-9511010282-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=April 18, 2020 |date=November 1, 1995}}

Phish's first live album, A Live One, was released during the summer of 1995 and featured selections from various concerts from their 1994 winter tour. The album charted at number 18 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and was reported to have sold around 50,000 copies in its first week on sale.{{cite web |last1=Sutherland |first1=Scott |title=POP MUSIC; A 12-Year Climb to the Heights |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/30/arts/pop-music-a-12year-climb-to-the-heights.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=February 21, 2022 |date=July 30, 1995}} A Live One became Phish's first RIAA-certified gold album in November 1995.{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp | title= List of Phish albums certified as gold or platinum|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America | access-date= 2007-06-14 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070608063940/http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp |archive-date = 2007-06-08}} In 1997, A Live One became the band's first Platinum album, certified for sales of 1 million copies in the United States, and remains their best selling album to date.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=A.P. |title=Putting Music To Words: Author Walter Holland Talks Phish's 'A Live One' |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/walter-holland-a-live-one-phish |website=JamBase |access-date=September 30, 2018 |date=March 8, 2016}}{{cite web |title=Gold & Platinum – RIAA: Phish |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=phish#search_section |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=September 30, 2018}}

Phish ended 1995 with their first New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden.{{cite magazine |last1=Greene |first1=Andy |title=Flashback: Phish Play a Funky 'Punch You in the Eye' at 1995 New Year's Show |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phish-new-years-eve-punch-you-in-the-eye-1995-1276670/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=September 1, 2023 |date=December 28, 2021}} The concert was released in its entirety on the live album Phish: New Year's Eve 1995 – Live at Madison Square Garden in 2005.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Commits New Year's 1995 To Disc |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/phish-commits-new-years-1995-to-disc-60999/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 1, 2023 |date=October 20, 2005}}

In early 1996, Anastasio and Fishman formed a free jazz side-project called Surrender to the Air, inspired by the music of Sun Ra, which also featured Marshall Allen, Michael Ray, John Medeski, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, and Marc Ribot, among other musicians.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jon |title=Twenty Years Later: Trey Anastasio Presents Surrender To The Air |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/twenty-years-later-trey-anastasio-presents-surrender-air |website=JamBase |access-date=September 1, 2023}} The group's only album, Surrender to the Air, was released in March.{{cite web |title=Pop Music: Small Faces |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-04-ca-32059-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 1, 2023 |date=February 4, 1996}}

Following an appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April 1996,{{cite web |title=Phish Releases Jazzfest '96 and Tipitina's '91 For New Orleans Relief – Glide Magazine |url=https://glidemagazine.com/7232/phish-releases-jazzfest-96-and-tipitinas-91-for-new-orleans-relief/ |website=Glide Magazine |access-date=September 16, 2018 |date=October 6, 2005}} Phish spent the summer of that year opening for Santana on their European tour.{{cite web |title=Two sets of Phish opening for Santana, summers '92 and '96 |url=http://kdrt.org/audio/two-sets-phish-opening-santana-summers-92-and-96 |website=KDRT 95.7FM Davis |date=June 3, 2012 |access-date=September 16, 2018 }} In August 1996, the band held their first festival, The Clifford Ball, at the decommissioned Plattsburgh Air Force Base on the New York side of Lake Champlain. The festival attracted 70,000 attendees, making it both Phish's biggest concert crowd to that point and the largest single concert by attendance in the United States in 1996.{{cite news | title = Small Adirondack Town Is Host of a Giant Concert | newspaper = The New York Times | date = August 18, 1996 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E1D61630F93BA2575BC0A960958260 | access-date = November 26, 2007 }} Phish recorded their sixth album Billy Breathes in the winter and spring of 1996, and the album was issued in October of that year.{{cite web |title=Phish history timeline: February 1996 |url=https://phish.com/band/february-1996/ |website=Phish}}{{cite web |title=Phish history timeline: October 1996 |url=https://phish.com/band/october-1996/ |website=Phish |access-date=July 25, 2023}} The album's first single, "Free", peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and was their most successful song on both charts.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/mrt/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 22, 2018}}

By 1997, Phish's concert improvisational ventures were developing into a new funk-inspired long form jamming style.{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Jake |title=Album Review: Phish – Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 |url=https://consequence.net/2011/12/album-review-phish-hamptonwinston-salem-97/ |website=Consequence of Sound |access-date=December 5, 2019 |date=December 16, 2011}} Vermont-based ice cream conglomerate Ben & Jerry's launched "Phish Food" that year. The band officially licensed their name for use with the product, the only time they have ever allowed a third-party company to do so, and were directly involved with the creation of the flavor.{{cite web |title=Ben & Jerry's: Phish Food Ice Cream |url=https://www.benjerry.com/flavors/phish-food-ice-cream |website=Ben & Jerry's |access-date=July 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822054600/https://www.benjerry.com/flavors/phish-food-ice-cream |archive-date=August 22, 2018}} Proceeds from the flavor are donated to the band's non-profit charity The WaterWheel Foundation, which raises funds for the preservation of Vermont's Lake Champlain.{{cite web|url=http://phish.net/faq/phish-food|title=What's the story behind Phish Food?|work=Phish.net FAQ|publisher=Phish.net|access-date=2011-02-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724005615/http://phish.net/faq/phish-food|archive-date=2011-07-24}} On August 8, 1997, Phish webcast one of their concerts live over the internet for the first time.{{cite book |last1=Gershuny |first1=Jason |last2=Smith |first2=Andy |title=100 Things Phish Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die |date=2018 |publisher=Triumph Books |isbn=9781641250191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOwwDwAAQBAJ&q=phish%201997%20webcast%20tinley&pg=PT211 |language=ar}}

On August 16 and 17, 1997, Phish held their second festival, The Great Went, over two days at the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, near the Canada–United States border.{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=The "Went Gin" Turns 20 Today, And It's Still One Of The Definitive Phish Jams [Video] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/20-years-later-went-gin-phish/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=September 9, 2018 |date=August 17, 2017}} In October 1997, the band released their second live album Slip Stitch and Pass, which featured selections from their March 1997 concert at the Markthalle Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish 'Slip Stitch & Pass' Vinyl Release Due On Black Friday |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-slip-stitch-and-pass-vinyl |website=JamBase |access-date=May 26, 2020 |date=October 9, 2018}}

Following the Great Went, the band embarked on a fall tour that was dubbed by fans as the "Phish Destroys America" tour after a 1970s kung fu-inspired poster for the opening date in Las Vegas.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=10 Years Later: Phish Destroys America |url=https://glidemagazine.com/140037/10-years-later-phish-destroys-america/ |website=Glide Magazine |date=November 13, 2007 |access-date=April 9, 2019}} The 21-date tour is considered one of the group's most popular and acclaimed tours, and several concerts were later officially released on live album sets such as Live Phish Volume 11 in 2002.{{cite web |last1=Siegel |first1=Scott |title=Phish Fall 97: Remembering November 17th In Denver |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-fall-97-remembering-november-17th-denver |website=JamBase |access-date=April 9, 2019 |date=November 17, 2017}} Phish ended 1997 as one of the ten highest grossing concert acts in the United States that year.{{cite web |title=Stones rule as 1997 top concert tour |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1433754/stones-rule-as-1997-top-concert-tour/ |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114124922/https://www.mtv.com/news/1433754/stones-rule-as-1997-top-concert-tour/ |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |date=December 15, 1997 |url-status=dead}}

In April 1998, the band embarked on the Island Tour – a four night tour with two shows at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Long Island and another two at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Remembering Phish's Island Tour 20 Years Later |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/remembering-phishs-island-tour-20-years-later |website=JamBase |date=April 2, 2018}} The four concerts are highly regarded by fans due to the band's exploration of a jazz-funk musical style they had been playing for the previous year, which Anastasio dubbed "cowfunk".{{cite web |last1=Collette|first1=Doug |title=Phish: Live Phish: Island Tour |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-phish-island-tour-by-doug-collette.php |website=All About Jazz |date=October 8, 2005 |access-date=September 30, 2018 }} The band performed the tour in the middle of studio sessions for their seventh album, and were inspired by the quality of their performances to further incorporate the cowfunk style into subsequent sessions.{{cite web |title=10 Little Known Facts About Phish's Island Tour |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/10-little-known-facts-phishs-island-tour |website=JamBase |access-date=September 30, 2018 |date=April 5, 2017}}{{cite web |title=Phish Releases Four Show 1998 Island Tour – Glide Magazine |url=https://glidemagazine.com/6971/phish-releases-four-show-1998-island-tour/ |website=Glide Magazine |access-date=September 30, 2018 |date=June 29, 2005}} The resulting album, The Story of the Ghost, was released in October 1998.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Provides Soundtrack For Part Of A 'Dawson's Creek' Episode In 1998 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-provides-soundtrack-for-part-of-a-dawsons-creek-episode-in-1998 |website=JamBase |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=October 9, 2016}} The album's first single "Birds of a Feather", which had been premiered on the Island Tour, became a No. 14 hit on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/aaa/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 30, 2018}} To promote The Story of the Ghost, Phish performed several songs from the album on the public television music show Sessions at West 54th in October 1998, and were interviewed for the program by its host David Byrne of Talking Heads.{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=12 Days Of Phishmas 2018: David Byrne Conducts Wide-Ranging Interview With Phish In 1998 [Watch] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/phishmas-2018-day2-david-byrne/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=March 4, 2019 |date=December 17, 2018}}

File:Lemonwheel August 14-16, 1998 (2175395920).jpg

In the summer of 1998, the band held Lemonwheel, their second festival at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. The two-day event attracted 60,000 attendees.{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Frank |title=Phish Fans Attend Lemonwheel |url=https://apnews.com/20aa03825987457a068bf5b26da8f599 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=August 15, 1998}} The band played another summer festival in 1999, called Camp Oswego and held at the Oswego County Airport in Volney, New York.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Concludes Camp Oswego Festival On This Date In 1999 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-camp-oswego-1999 |website=JamBase |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=July 18, 2019}} Unlike other Phish festivals, Camp Oswego featured a prominent second stage of additional performers aside from Phish, including Del McCoury, The Slip and Ozomatli.{{cite web |title=A Guide Through The First 10 Phish Festivals Ahead Of Curveball |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/curveball-phish-festivals-guide/ |website=Live for Live Music |date=August 14, 2018 |access-date=September 30, 2018}}

In July 1999, the band released an album of improvisational instrumentals titled The Siket Disc.{{cite web |last1=Kahn |first1=Andy |title=Vinyl Edition Of Phish 'The Siket Disc' LP Available For Pre-Order |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/vinyl-edition-of-phish-the-siket-disc-lp-available-for-pre-order |access-date=September 30, 2018 |work=JamBase |date=October 25, 2015}} The band followed that release with Hampton Comes Alive, a six-disc box set released in November 1999, which contained the entirety of their performances on November 20 and 21, 1998 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. The set marked the first time that complete recordings of Phish concerts were officially released by Elektra Records.{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Christopher |title=Phish to issue six CD live set: Hampton Comes Alive |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/518983/phish-to-issue-six-cd-live-set-hampton-comes-alive/ |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524010521/http://www.mtv.com/news/518983/phish-to-issue-six-cd-live-set-hampton-comes-alive/ |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |date=October 11, 1999 |url-status=dead}}

File:Phish 12.15.99 (2175393442).jpg

To celebrate the new millennium, Phish hosted a two-day outdoor festival at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in Florida in December 1999. The festival's climactic New Year's Eve concert, referred to by fans as simply "The Show", started at 11:35 p.m. on December 31, 1999, and continued through to sunrise on January 1, 2000, approximately eight hours later.{{cite web|url=http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-12-31 |title=December 31, 1999 Setlist |publisher=Phish.net |access-date=2014-04-11}}{{cite web |title=Most Of Phish's Big Cypress Seven-Plus-Hour-Long Millennium Set Is On YouTube |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/all-of-phishs-big-cypress-is-on-youtube/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=September 22, 2014}} The band's performance of the song "Heavy Things" at the festival was broadcast live as part of ABC's 2000 Today millennium coverage, giving the band their biggest television audience up to that point. 75,000 people attended the sold-out two-day festival.{{cite web |title=Highway gridlock halts Phish concert traffic; pedestrian killed |url=http://archives.cnn.com/1999/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/30/phish.concert.01/ |website=CNN Archives |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=December 31, 1999 |archive-date=May 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503210224/http://archives.cnn.com/1999/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/30/phish.concert.01/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=MUSIC; Happily Reunited to Go Against the Grain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/arts/music-happily-reunited-to-go-against-the-grain.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=November 13, 2019 |date=December 8, 2002}} In 2017, Rolling Stone named the Big Cypress festival one of the "50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years".{{cite magazine |title=The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-50-greatest-concerts-of-the-last-50-years-127062/phish-at-big-cypress-194414/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 18, 2018 |date=June 12, 2017}}

Following the Big Cypress festival, the band issued their ninth studio album Farmhouse in May 2000.{{cite web |last1=Waful |first1=Jefferson |title=Talking 'Farmhouse' with Trey Anastasio in 2000 |url=https://jambands.com/features/2020/05/16/talking-farmhouse-with-trey-anastasio-in-2000/ |website=Jambands |access-date=July 27, 2020 |date=May 16, 2020}} "Heavy Things", which was released as the album's first single, became the band's only song to appear on a mainstream pop radio format, reaching No. 29 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart that July.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/atf/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 5, 2018}} The song also became the band's biggest hit to date on the Adult Alternative Songs chart, reaching No. 2 there. In June 2000, the band embarked on a seven-date headlining tour of Japan.{{cite web |last1=Brasor |first1=Philip |title=All in the Phish Phamily |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2000/06/18/music/all-in-the-phish-phamily/ |website=The Japan Times |access-date=March 3, 2019 |date=June 18, 2000}} In July, they taped an appearance on the PBS music show Austin City Limits, which was aired in October.{{cite web |title=Flashback {{!}} Phish On Austin City Limits 2000 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/flashback-phish-on-austin-city-limits-2000 |website=JamBase |access-date=March 3, 2019 |date=September 16, 2013}}

In the summer of 2000, the band announced that they would take their first "extended time-out" following their upcoming fall tour.{{cite web |title=Seven Significant Musical Hiatuses |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/seven-significant-musical-hiatuses/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=May 23, 2020 |date=November 14, 2011}} Anastasio officially announced the impending hiatus to the band's fans during their September 30 concert at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=9780306819209 |page=203 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=phish%20hiatus%202000%20%22las%20vegas%22&pg=PA203 }} During the tour's last concert on October 7, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, the band made no reference to the hiatus, and left the stage without saying a word following their encore performance of "You Enjoy Myself", as The Beatles' "Let It Be" played over the venue's sound system.{{cite web |title=October 2000 |url=http://phish.com/band/october-2000/ |website=Phish |access-date=March 3, 2019}}

Bittersweet Motel, a documentary film about the band directed by Todd Phillips, was released in August 2000, shortly before the hiatus began.{{cite web |last1=Holden |first1=Stephen |title='Bittersweet Motel:' Love Phlows Between Phish and Phans |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/082500motel-film-review.html |website=New York Times Archive |access-date=July 28, 2020 |date=August 25, 2000}} The documentary captures the band's 1997 and 1998 tours, the Great Went festival and the recording of The Story of the Ghost.{{cite web |title=The B List: 10 Notable Changes Since The Release of Phish Documentary Bittersweet Motel – Glide Magazine |url=https://glidemagazine.com/71072/the-b-list-10-notable-changes-since-the-release-of-phish-documentary-bittersweet-motel/ |website=Glide Magazine |access-date=September 21, 2018 |date=November 17, 2011}} Phish were nominated in two categories at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001: Best Boxed Recording Package for Hampton Comes Alive and Best Instrumental Rock Performance for "First Tube" from Farmhouse.{{cite web |title=Grammy Nominations |url=https://phish.com/news/grammy-nominations/ |website=Phish |date=January 3, 2001 |access-date=October 5, 2019}}{{cite web |title=43rd Annual Grammy Nomination List |url=https://variety.com/2001/music/news/43rd-annual-grammy-nomination-list-1117791238/ |website=Variety |date=January 3, 2001}}

During Phish's hiatus, Elektra Records continued to issue archival releases of the band's concerts on compact disc. Between September 2001 and May 2003, the label released 20 entries in the Live Phish Series.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Rare Phish videos from '91–'00 surface on Youtube |url=http://glidemagazine.com/96433/rare-phish-videos-from-91-98-surface-on-youtube |website=Glide Magazine |date=November 28, 2012 |access-date=July 28, 2020}} These multi-disc sets featured complete soundboard recordings of concerts that were particularly popular with the band and their fanbase, similar to the Grateful Dead's Dick's Picks archival series.{{cite web |last1=Parrish |first1=Michael |title=More bands are 'bootlegging' own concerts |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-05-18-0305180395-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=July 28, 2020 |date=May 18, 2003}} In November 2002, the label released the band's first concert DVD, Phish: Live in Vegas, which featured the entirety of the September 2000 concert at which Anastasio announced the hiatus.{{cite magazine |last1=Sussman |first1=Gary |title=Phish reunite for tour |url=https://ew.com/article/2002/08/15/phish-reunite-tour/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=July 28, 2020 |date=August 15, 2002}}

In April 2002, Phish guest starred on the episode "Weekend at Burnsie's" of the animated series The Simpsons.{{cite web |last1=D'Angelo |first1=Joe |title=Phish regroup for Springfield gig – on 'Simpsons" |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1451877/phish-regroup-for-springfield-gig-on-simpsons/ |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814182739/http://www.mtv.com/news/1451877/phish-regroup-for-springfield-gig-on-simpsons/ |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |date=January 22, 2002 |url-status=dead}} The episode marked the band's first appearance together, albeit as animated characters, since the hiatus began. Phish provided their own voices for the episode and performed a snippet of "Run Like an Antelope".

In August 2002, Phish's manager John Paluska announced the band planned to end their hiatus that December with a New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden.{{cite magazine |title=The Hiatus Is Over: Phish Returns |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/74573/the-hiatus-is-over-phish-returns |magazine=Billboard |date=August 14, 2002 |access-date=January 6, 2020}} They also recorded Round Room over the course of four days in October and released it on December 10.{{cite magazine |title=Phish Come Back 'Round' For New Studio Set |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73667/phish-come-back-round-for-new-studio-set |magazine=Billboard |date=October 29, 2002 |access-date=November 5, 2018}} The band had initially planned to record the new album live at the Madison Square Garden concert, but instead felt that demos they had recorded of the material were strong enough to merit release as a studio album.{{cite magazine |last1=Fricke |first1=David |title=Phish: America's Great Jam Band Returns |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phish-americas-great-jam-band-returns-177400/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 1, 2018 |date=March 6, 2003}} Four days after the release of Round Room, the band appeared as a musical guest on the December 14 episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by former Vice President of the United States Al Gore.{{cite web |title=Phish Plays Saturday Night Live On December 14 |url=http://phish.com/news/phish-plays-saturday-night-live-on-december-14/ |website=Phish |date=November 14, 2002 |access-date=September 22, 2018}} During the episode, the band debuted the song "46 Days", appeared in a comedy sketch, and their song "You Enjoy Myself" was featured in a TV Funhouse cartoon segment.{{cite web |last1=Mason |first1=Pete |title=20 Years Later: Phish perform on Saturday Night Live |url=https://nysmusic.com/2022/12/14/20-years-later-phish-perform-on-saturday-night-live/ |website=NYS Music |access-date=April 20, 2024 |date=December 14, 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Sunday Cinema {{!}} Animated Phish |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/sunday-cinema-animated-phish |website=JamBase |access-date=September 22, 2018 |date=May 4, 2014}} During their return concert on December 31, McConnell's brother was introduced as actor Tom Hanks. The impostor sang a line of the song "Wilson", prompting some media outlets to report that the actor had appeared at the concert.{{cite web |last1=Mnookin |first1=Seth |title=Phish's wacky New Year's Eve antics. |url=https://slate.com/culture/2003/01/phish-s-wacky-new-year-s-eve-antics.html |website=Slate |access-date=October 3, 2019 |date=January 3, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003045721/https://slate.com/culture/2003/01/phish-s-wacky-new-year-s-eve-antics.html |archive-date=October 3, 2019 |url-status=dead }}

File:Alpine.jpg in East Troy, Wisconsin, in July 2003, accompanied by a light show created by Chris Kuroda]]

At the end of the 2003 summer tour, Phish returned to Limestone, Maine for It, their first festival since Big Cypress.{{cite web |last1=Burnham |first1=Emily |title=A brief history of Phish's 30-year relationship with Maine |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2019/06/24/news/bangor/a-brief-history-of-phishs-30-year-relationship-with-maine/ |website=Bangor Daily News |access-date=July 28, 2020 |date=June 24, 2019}} The event drew crowds of over 60,000 fans, and was the band's final festival to be held at Loring Air Force Base. Highlights from the festival were released on a DVD set, also called It, in October 2004.{{cite web |title=It |url=http://phish.com/release/it/ |website=Phish |access-date=January 9, 2019}} In November and December 2003, the band celebrated its 20th anniversary with a four-show mini-tour of shows in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. The December 1 show at Pepsi Arena featured a guest appearance by former member Jeff Holdsworth, who sat in with the band on five songs, including his compositions "Possum" and "Camel Walk".{{cite web |title=Flashback: Phish Welcomes Former Guitarist Jeff Holdsworth During 20th Anniversary Run [Full Show] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/flashback-phish-welcomes-former-guitarist-jeff-holdsworth-during-20th-anniversary-run-full-show/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=February 4, 2019 |date=December 1, 2015}}

On May 25, 2004, Anastasio announced on the Phish website that the band would disband at the end of their 2004 summer tour.{{cite web |last1=Anastasio |first1=Trey |title=An Announcement from Trey |url=http://phish.com/news/an-announcement-from-trey/ |website=Phish.com |access-date=July 28, 2020 |date=May 25, 2004}} He wrote that he had met with the other members earlier that month to discuss the "Strong feelings I've been having that Phish has run its course, and that we should end it now while it's still on a high note." By the end of the meeting, he said, "We realized that after almost twenty-one years together, we were faced with the opportunity to graciously step away in unison, as a group, united in our friendship and our feelings of gratitude." The band's eleventh – and at the time final – studio album Undermind was released in June 2004.{{cite web |last1=Udovitch |first1=Mim |title=MUSIC; The Final Word on Phish |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/arts/music-the-final-word-on-phish.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=July 28, 2020 |date=June 13, 2004}} The band's summer 2004 began with two concerts at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, New York. The first concert was recorded for the live album and concert documentary Phish: Live in Brooklyn, while the second featured a guest appearance by rapper Jay-Z, who performed two songs with the band.{{cite magazine |last1=Greene |first1=Andy |title=Flashback: Phish and Jay Z Join Forces For '99 Problems' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-phish-and-jay-z-join-forces-for-99-problems-119997/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 27, 2020 |date=March 2, 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Heaton |first1=Dave |title=Phish: Live in Brooklyn |url=https://www.popmatters.com/phish-live-in-brooklyn-2495683926.html |website=PopMatters |access-date=April 27, 2020 |date=July 21, 2006}} Later that summer, the band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and performed a seven-song set from atop the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater for fans who had gathered on the street.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Plays Surprise Show For Letterman Atop NYC's Ed Sullivan Theater In 2004 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-plays-surprise-show-for-letterman-atop-nycs-ed-sullivan-theater-in-2004 |website=JamBase |access-date=April 27, 2019 |date=June 21, 2016}}{{cite web |title=Jun 21, 2004 Setlist - Phish.net |url=http://phish.net/setlists/phish-june-21-2004-ed-sullivan-theater-new-york-ny-usa.html |website=phish.net |access-date=April 27, 2019}}

The 2004 tour finished with the band's seventh summer festival on August 14 and 15, which were billed as their final performances.{{cite web |last1=Rothman |first1=Robin A. |title='A major part of my soul died today' – Phish fans react to split |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1487987/a-major-part-of-my-soul-died-today-phish-fans-react-to-split/ |publisher=MTV News |access-date=June 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115174615/http://www.mtv.com/news/1487987/a-major-part-of-my-soul-died-today-phish-fans-react-to-split/ |archive-date=November 15, 2019 |date=May 27, 2004 |url-status=dead}} The Coventry festival was named for the town in Vermont that hosted the event, which was held at the nearby Newport State Airport.{{cite web |title=Pharewell My Friend: Phish Says Farewell At Coventry |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/pharewell-my-friend-phish-says-farewell-at-coventry |website=JamBase |access-date=April 27, 2020 |date=August 15, 2019}}

The concerts were simulcast in movie theaters and on XM Satellite Radio.{{cite magazine |title='Curtain' Falls On Phish's Career |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/curtain-falls-on-phishs-career-66899/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 19, 2023 |date=August 16, 2004}} "The Curtain With" was the final song the band performed at their then-final concert on August 15. After Coventry, the members of the band admitted they were disappointed with their performance at the festival; In the official book Phish: The Biography, Anastasio expressed that "Coventry itself was a nightmare. It was emotional, but it was not like we were at our finest. I certainly wasn't".{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=243 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA243}} The festival weekend was beset by logistical issues, including heavy rain, muddy conditions in the festival area and a traffic jam on Interstate 91.

Following the breakup, the band's members remained in amicable communication with one another.{{cite news |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Phish's Breakup? That Was Then. But Tough Times Demand a Reunion. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 4, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/arts/music/05phish.html |access-date=October 1, 2018 }} The members also occasionally appeared on each other's solo albums and collaborated on side-projects.{{cite web |last1=Bavosa |first1=Brian |title=Page McConnell: On his own two feet |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/page-mcconnell-on-his-own-two-feet |website=JamBase |access-date=December 21, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Fortin |first1=Aaron |title=VIDEO: G.R.A.B (Gordon, Russo, Anastasio, Benevento) from All Good 2006 |url=https://livemusicblog.com/videos/video-g-r-a-b-gordon-russo-anastasio-benevento-from-all-good-2006/ |website=LIVE music blog |access-date=December 21, 2020 |date=October 8, 2012}}

In 2005, Phish formed their own record label, JEMP Records, to release archival CD and DVD sets.{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-0-306-81947-6 |pages=248 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zyoeq86UV0C&dq=jemp%20records%202005&pg=PA248}} The label's first release was Phish: New Year's Eve 1995 – Live at Madison Square Garden, which was released in conjunction with Rhino Records in December 2005.{{cite web |last1=Collette |first1=Doug |title=Phish: Phish: New Year's Eve 1995—Live at Madison Square Garden |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/phish-new-years-eve-1995-live-at-madison-square-garden-by-doug-collette.php |website=All About Jazz |date=January 21, 2006 |access-date=October 1, 2018}} The album was named the 42nd greatest live album of all time by Rolling Stone in April 2015.{{cite magazine |title=50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-live-albums-of-all-time-173246/phish-new-years-eve-1995-live-at-madison-square-garden-2005-153107/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 1, 2018 |date=April 29, 2015}} The label subsequently released several other archival live box sets, including Colorado '88 (2006), Vegas 96 (2007), At the Roxy (2008) and The Clifford Ball (2009).

In December 2006, Anastasio was arrested in Whitehall, New York for drug possession and driving while intoxicated, and was sentenced to 14 months in a drug court program.{{cite magazine|title=Anastasio Arrested For DWI In Upstate N.Y.|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/56432/anastasio-arrested-for-dwi-in-upstate-ny|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 8, 2013}}{{cite magazine|title=Anastasio Avoids Jail On Drug Charges|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1052782/anastasio-avoids-jail-on-drug-charges|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 8, 2013}} In 2007, while Anastasio was undergoing rehabilitation, the other members of Phish surprised him on his birthday with an instrumental recording they had made for him to play along with on guitar. During his rehabilitation, Anastasio said he "spent 24 hours a day thinking about nothing but Phish" and began discussing a reunion with the other members of the band.{{cite magazine |title=Trey Anastasio Opens Up About Past Drug Addiction |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/trey-anastasio-opens-up-about-past-drug-addiction-180149/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 10, 2018 |date=November 15, 2012}}

Phish received the Jammys Lifetime Achievement Award on May 7, 2008, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. All four members attended the ceremony and gave a speech, and both McConnell and Anastasio performed, although not together.{{cite web |title=10 Years Ago Today: Phish Reunited at The Jammys (and Chevy Chase Impersonated Keller Williams) – Relix Media |url=https://relix.com/blogs/detail/10_years_ago_today_phish_reunited_at_the_jammys_and_chevy_chase_impersonated_keller_williams/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=October 5, 2018 |date=May 7, 2018}}

In response to a June 2008 rumor that Phish had reunited to record a new album, McConnell wrote a letter on the band's website updating fans on the current relations between the band's members.{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Rachael |title=Update: Phish's Page McConnell writes letter to fans |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/06/lillywhite-rumored-to-produce-phish-reunion-disc.html |website=Paste Magazine |access-date=October 1, 2018}} McConnell wrote that while the members remained friends, they were currently busy with other projects and the reunion rumors were premature.{{cite web |last1=McConnell |first1=Page |title=A LETTER FROM PAGE |url=http://phish.com/news/a-letter-from-page-2/ |website=Phish |date=June 26, 2008 |access-date=October 1, 2018}} He added, "Later this year we hope to spend some time together and take a look at what possible futures we might enjoy." That September, the band played three songs at the wedding of their former tour manager Brad Sands.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |url=http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/breaking-phish-reunites-for-sandsios-wedding/ |title=Breaking: Phish Reunites for Sandsio's Wedding | Hidden Track |date=September 7, 2008 |work=Glide Magazine |access-date=2014-04-11}} Later in 2008, the band reconvened at The Barn, Anastasio's farmhouse studio in Burlington, Vermont, for jamming sessions and rehearsals.

On October 1, 2008, the band announced on their website that they had officially reunited, and would play their first shows in five years in March 2009 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.{{cite web |last1=Curran |first1=John |title=Phish No Longer "Gone Fishing" |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/phish-no-longer-gone-fishing/ |publisher=CBS News |date=October 2008 |access-date=October 1, 2018 }} The three reunion concerts were held on March 6, 7 and 8, 2009, with "Fluffhead" being the first song the band played onstage at the first show.{{cite news |last1=Schiesel |first1=Seth |title=Phish Returns to Hampton, Va., to Feed Its Hungry Fans |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 9, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/arts/music/10phish.html |access-date=October 1, 2018 }}{{cite web |title=PHISH TO PLAY THREE CONCERTS |url=http://phish.com/news/phish-to-play-three-concerts/ |website=Phish |date=October 2008 |access-date=October 1, 2018}} Approximately 14,000 people attended the concerts over the course of three days, and the band made the shows available for free download on their LivePhish website for a limited time, to accommodate fans who were unable to attend.{{cite web |title=On The Download: Phish Live! |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/entertainment/celebrity/On_The_Download__Phish_Live_.html |website=NBC4 Washington |date=March 10, 2009 |access-date=October 1, 2018 }}{{cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Free Phish: Band Giving Away Downloads of Virginia Reunion Shows |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/free-phish-band-giving-away-downloads-of-virginia-reunion-shows-108588/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 1, 2018 |date=March 4, 2009}}

When the band decided to reunite, the members agreed to limit their touring schedule, and they have typically performed about 50 concerts a year since.{{cite magazine |last1=Doyle |first1=Patrick |title=Phish's New Harmony: How America's Best Jam Band Learned to Get Along |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/phishs-new-harmony-how-americas-greatest-jam-band-learned-to-get-along-107239/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=September 30, 2018 |date=October 21, 2016}} Following the reunion weekend, Phish embarked on a summer tour which began in May with a concert at Fenway Park in Boston.{{cite web |last1=Bavosa |first1=Brian |title=Phish: 5.31.09 Boston |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-5-31-09-boston |website=JamBase |access-date=May 12, 2020 |date=June 1, 2009}}{{cite news |last1=Rodman |first1=Sarah |title=Phish and fans come back together for a pledge of mutual allegiance |url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/06/01/phish_back_in_the_swim_at_fenway/ |website=The Boston Globe |access-date=May 12, 2020 |date=June 1, 2009}} The Fenway show was followed by a 25-date tour which included performances at the 2009 edition of the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee and a four date stand at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.{{cite web |title=Summer 2009 Dates Added |url=https://phish.com/news/summer-2009-dates-added/ |website=Phish |date=March 17, 2009 |access-date=May 12, 2020}} At Bonnaroo, Phish was joined by Bruce Springsteen on guitar for three songs.{{cite magazine |last1=Vadukul |first1=Alex |title=Springsteen Joins Phish to Close Out Electric Bonnaroo 2009 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/springsteen-joins-phish-to-close-out-electric-bonnaroo-2009-78281/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=May 12, 2020 |date=June 15, 2009}}

File:Phish 2009-12-30.jpg

Phish's fourteenth studio album, Joy, produced by Steve Lillywhite, was released September 8, 2009.{{cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Phish's "Joy" Out September 8th, Band Announces Deluxe "Joy Box" |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phishs-joy-out-september-8th-band-announces-deluxe-joy-box-252578/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=August 11, 2009}} "Backwards Down the Number Line", a single from the Joy album, reached number 9 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart in October. In October, the band held Festival 8, their first multi-day festival event since Coventry in 2004, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.{{cite web |title=Phish Festival 8 (aka "Save The Date") Festival Location Announced: Indio, Oct 30 – Nov 1: Tickets On Sale Now |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/local/angea-phish-festival-8-aka-save-the-date-festival-location-announced-indio-oct-30-nov-1-tickets-on-sale-now/1858023/ |website=NBC Los Angeles |date=July 28, 2009 |access-date=May 12, 2020}}

In March 2010, Anastasio inducted Genesis, one of his favorite bands, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the museum's annual ceremony in New York City.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Honors Genesis At 2010 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-genesis-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-video |website=JamBase |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=July 20, 2020}} In addition to Anastasio's speech, Phish performed the Genesis songs "Watcher of the Skies" and "No Reply at All" at the event. Phish toured in the summer and fall of 2010, and their concerts at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin and the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York were issued as CD/DVD sets in 2010 and 2011 respectively.{{cite web |title=Phish: Alpine Valley 2010 2 CD/2 DVD Box Details |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-alpine-valley-2010-2-cd2-dvd-box-details |website=JamBase |access-date=August 5, 2022}}{{cite web |title=Phish: Live in Utica Live CD/DVD Box Set |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-live-in-utica-live-cddvd-box-set |website=JamBase |access-date=March 13, 2019 |date=April 6, 2011}}{{cite web |title=Phish 2010 Summer Tour Announced |url=http://phish.com/news/phish-2010-summer-tour-announced/ |website=Phish |date=March 16, 2010 |access-date=March 13, 2019}}

Phish's ninth festival, Super Ball IX, took place at the Watkins Glen International race track in Watkins Glen, New York on July 1–3, 2011. It was the first concert to take place at Watkins Glen International since Summer Jam at Watkins Glen in 1973.{{cite web |last1=Waddell |first1=Ray |title=Phish to Stage Super Ball IX in Upstate NY |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/phish-stage-super-ball-ix-173656 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=March 31, 2011 |access-date=March 13, 2019 }} In September, the band played a benefit concert in Essex Junction, Vermont which raised $1.2 million for Vermont flood victim relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.{{cite web |last1=Gallman |first1=Stephanie |title=Phish jams to raise $1.2 million for flood victims in native Vermont |url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/09/16/showbiz/vermont-phish-fundraiser/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=September 16, 2011 |access-date=May 12, 2020}}

In June 2012, Phish headlined Bonnaroo 2012 with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead.{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Favorites Return to Bonnaroo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/arts/music/bonnaroo-festival-with-radiohead-phish-and-dangelo.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=May 23, 2020 |date=June 11, 2012}} During their 2013 Halloween concert at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the band played twelve new songs from their upcoming album, which at the time had the working title Wingsuit and would later be renamed Fuego.{{cite magazine |last1=Coulehan |first1=Erin |title=Phish Working on New Album, Trey Anastasio Says |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/trey-anastasio-phish-working-on-new-album-92802/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=June 4, 2013}}{{cite magazine |last1=Doyle |first1=Patrick |title=Trey Anastasio Celebrates 30 Years of Phish, Reveals Album Details |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-trey-anastasio-celebrates-30-years-of-phish-reveals-album-details-20130722 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=July 22, 2013}} During the concert, the band was joined onstage by actor Abe Vigoda, who is mentioned by name in the song "Wombat", dressed in a wombat costume.{{cite magazine |last1=Atkinson |first1=Katie |title=Watch Abe Vigoda Join Phish Onstage Dressed as a Wombat in 2013 |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/abe-vigoda-phish-wombat-video-6858186/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=October 17, 2023 |date=January 26, 2016}}

Phish ended 2013 with a New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden that also celebrated their 30th anniversary, as they had played their first concert in December 1983.{{cite web |last1=Melamed |first1=Dave |title=12 Days Of Phishmas: The Famed JEMP Truck Set Celebrating Phish's 30th |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/12-days-phishmas-famed-jemp-truck-set-celebrating-phishs-30th/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=December 18, 2016}} The concert featured a nine-minute montage film celebrating the band's career, and the band performed an entire set in the middle of the arena from atop an equipment truck.

Phish released Fuego, their first studio album in five years, on June 24, 2014.{{cite news |last1=Katzif |first1=Mike |title=First Listen: Phish, 'Fuego' |url=https://www.npr.org/2014/06/15/320981203/first-listen-phish-fuego |publisher=NPR |date=June 15, 2014 |access-date=July 31, 2020 }} The album peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and became their highest charting album since Billy Breathes reached the same position in 1996.{{cite web |first=Scott |last=Bernstein |title=Phish Fuego Earns Number Seven Slot On Billboard Charts |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-fuego-earns-number-seven-slot-on-billboard-charts |website=JamBase |access-date=March 13, 2019 |date=July 2, 2014}} During their Halloween 2014 concert at MGM Grand Las Vegas, the band performed a set consisting of ten original songs inspired by the 1964 Walt Disney Records sound effects album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.{{cite magazine |last1=Herbert |first1=Kiran |title=By the Numbers: Phish's 'Chilling, Thrilling' Halloween Show |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/phishs-chilling-thrilling-halloween-show-by-the-numbers-72544/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=November 1, 2014}}

File:Phish Tour - Wrigley Field - 6-25 (27851417510).jpg in Chicago.]]

In 2015, Phish performed both a summer tour and their tenth multi-day festival event, Magnaball, was held at the Watkins International Speedway in New York in August.{{cite magazine |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=Jams Reign Supreme at Phish's Utopian Three-Day Magnaball |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/jams-reign-supreme-at-phishs-utopian-three-day-magnaball-fest-34488/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=May 26, 2020 |date=August 24, 2015}}{{cite web | title = 2015 Summer Tour and Magnaball | date = March 18, 2015 | url = http://phish.com/news/2015-summer-magnaball-phishs-tenth-festival/ | access-date = April 5, 2016}} Phish's fourteenth studio album, Big Boat, was released on October 7, 2016.{{cite magazine |last1=Kinane |first1=Ruth |title=Phish Announce New Album 'Big Boat' |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/13/phish-big-boat-new-album |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=September 13, 2016}}

Phish played a 13-night concert residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden from July 21 to August 6, 2017, dubbed "The Baker's Dozen".{{cite magazine |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=Phish's 'Baker's Dozen' Residency: Breaking Down All 13 Blissful Nights |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/live-reviews/phishs-bakers-dozen-residency-our-recap-w496328 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=August 7, 2017 |archive-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808170305/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/live-reviews/phishs-bakers-dozen-residency-our-recap-w496328 |url-status=dead }} Each concert featured a loose theme with performances of unique cover songs and a special doughnut served each night to the audience by Federal Donuts of Philadelphia.{{cite magazine |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=Phish's 'Baker's Dozen' Residency: Breaking Down All 13 Blissful Nights |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/phishs-bakers-dozen-residency-breaking-down-all-13-blissful-nights-197436/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 1, 2018 |date=August 7, 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish To Play Baker's Dozen At Madison Square Garden In New York City This Summer |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-play-bakers-dozen-madison-square-garden-new-york-city-summer |website=JamBase |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=February 16, 2017}} No songs were repeated during the Baker's Dozen run, with a total of 237 individual songs performed across the 13 concerts.{{cite web |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=13 Shows. No Repeats. Trey Anastasio on How Phish Pulled Off the 'Baker's Dozen.' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/arts/music/phish-trey-anastasio-bakers-dozen-interview.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=August 8, 2017}} The complete Baker's Dozen residency was released as a limited edition 36-disc box set in November 2018.{{cite magazine |last1=Reed |first1=Ryan |title=Phish Prep Expansive 'Complete Baker's Dozen' Live Box Set |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phish-prep-expansive-complete-bakers-dozen-live-box-set-629468/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=June 6, 2018}} A scaled-down triple CD set featuring 13 song performances, titled The Baker's Dozen: Live at Madison Square Garden, was issued simultaneously with the box set.

Phish planned to hold an eleventh summer festival, Curveball, in Watkins Glen, New York in 2018, but the festival was canceled by New York Department of Health officials, one day before it was scheduled to begin, due to water quality issues from flooding in the area.{{cite web |last1=Cleveland |first1=Will |last2=Campbell |first2=Jon |title=Phish festival Curveball at Watkins Glen canceled over health concerns |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2018/08/16/phish-festival-curveball-watkins-glen-canceled-over-health-concerns/1013358002/ |website=Rochester Democrat and Chronicle |access-date=July 31, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Orr |first1=Steve |title=Watkins Glen official: 'This whole valley kind of cleaned itself and went into Seneca Lake' |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2018/08/17/phish-curveball-festival-watkins-glen-canceled-water-advisory/1018849002/ |website=Rochester Democrat and Chronicle |access-date=July 31, 2020}} At their Halloween concert that October at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the band performed a set of all-new original material that they promoted as a "cover" of í rokk by Kasvot Växt, a fictional 1980s Scandinavian progressive rock band they had created.{{cite web |last1=Sodomsky |first1=Sam |title=Phish Invent Fake Scandinavian Prog Band, "Cover" Their Album Live |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/phish-invent-fake-scandinavian-prog-band-cover-their-album-live/ |website=Pitchfork |date=November 2018 |access-date=July 31, 2020 }} The Kasvot Växt set was released as a standalone live album on Spotify on November 10, 2018.{{cite web |title=Phish Offer Full Kasvot Växt Halloween Set on Spotify – Relix Media |url=https://relix.com/news/detail/phish-offer-full-kasvot-vaxt-halloween-set-on-spotify/ |website=Relix |access-date=November 10, 2018 |date=November 10, 2018}} All four concerts in the 2018 Halloween run were livestreamed in 4K resolution, which marked the first time that a major musical act had ever offered a 4K livestreaming option.{{cite web |last1=Schumacher-Rasmussen |first1=Eric |title=Phish: 4 Nights in 4K |url=https://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Phish-4-Nights-in-4K-130732.aspx |website=Streaming Media Magazine |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=March 22, 2019}}

File:Phish Dick’s Sporting Goods Park 09.01.19 (48674638411).jpg

Between Me and My Mind, a documentary film directed by Steven Cantor about Anastasio's life, his Ghosts of the Forest side-project and Phish's 2017 New Year's Eve concert, was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2019.{{cite web |title=A New Trey Anastasio Documentary, 'Between Me and My Mind,' Will Debut at the Tribeca Film Festival |url=https://relix.com/news/detail/a-new-trey-anastasio-documentary-between-me-and-my-mind-will-debut-at-the-tribeca-film-festival/ |website=Relix |access-date=March 31, 2019 |date=March 14, 2019}}{{cite magazine |last1=Doyle |first1=Patrick |title=Trey Anastasio Opens Up About His New Mystery Band, Ghosts of the Forest |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/trey-anastasio-interview-ghosts-of-the-forest-phish-tour-816211 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 2, 2019 |date=April 2, 2019}} In June 2019, SiriusXM launched Phish Radio, a satellite radio station dedicated to the band's music.{{cite magazine |last1=Doyle |first1=Patrick |title=Phish Launching Their Own SiriusXM Channel |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phish-launching-their-own-siriusxm-channel-847998/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=June 26, 2019 |date=June 13, 2019}}

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Phish postponed their 2020 summer tour until 2021.{{cite web |title=Summer Tour Rescheduled For 2021 |url=https://phish.com/news/summer-tour-rescheduled-for-2021 |website=Phish |date=May 2020 |access-date=May 1, 2020}} Before 2020, Phish had embarked on a summer tour every year since their 2009 reunion.{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=Looking Back At Every Phish Summer Tour Opener In The 3.0 Era [Videos] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/looking-back-phish-summer-tour-opener/ |website=L4LM |access-date=May 26, 2020 |date=June 11, 2019}} During the COVID-19 pandemic, Phish hosted free weekly "Dinner and a Movie" webcasts of archival performances on Tuesday evenings until Labor Day weekend, after which they were hosted monthly.{{cite web |title=Announcing Dinner And A Movie Tuesday Evenings |url=https://phish.com/news/announcing-dinner-and-a-movie-tuesday-evenings |website=Phish.com |date=March 23, 2020 |access-date=August 2, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=Phish Moves Next 'Dinner And A Movie' Back A Day For Presidential Debate |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/phish-moves-dinner-movie-presidential-debate/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=September 29, 2020 |date=September 9, 2020}}

Phish released their fifteenth studio album Sigma Oasis on April 2, 2020.{{cite web |last1=DeVille |first1=Chris |title=Phish Are Debuting Their New Album 'Sigma Oasis' Via Livestream Tonight |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2078838/phish-sigma-oasis-listening-party/music/album-stream/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=April 2, 2020 |date=April 1, 2020}} The album was premiered through a listening party on their LivePhish app, SiriusXM radio station and Facebook page.{{cite news |last1=Ward |first1=Justin |title=Phish Announces New Album 'Sigma Oasis' on Dinner And A Movie Livestream Setbreak |url=https://livemusicblog.com/news/phish-announces-new-album-sigma-oasis/ |website=LIVE music blog |access-date=April 1, 2020 |date=April 1, 2020}} The album consists entirely of material the band had been performing in concert over the course of the previous decade, but had yet to appear on a studio release.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title= Phish Releases 'Sigma Oasis' Album |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-sigma-oasis-album |website=JamBase |access-date=April 2, 2020 |date=April 2, 2020}}

In January 2021, Anastasio told Pollstar that the band was unable to perform or rehearse together due to COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine rules currently in place in the New England states, but said "As soon as it's feasible, we'll be back."{{cite web |last1=Renner Brown |first1=Eric |title=Trey Anastasio Talks Beacon Jams, Music History, Phish's Future |url=https://www.pollstar.com/article/trey-anastasio-talks-beacon-jams-music-history-phishs-future-147111 |website=Pollstar.com |date=January 11, 2021 |access-date=January 25, 2021}}

Phish performed their first concert since the start of the pandemic on July 28, 2021, at the Walmart AMP in Rogers, Arkansas, having not performed since February 23, 2020.{{cite web |last1=Beal |first1=Wesley |title=Heat and pandemic be damned, Phish offered a 'temporary reprieve from gravity' at the Walmart AMP last night |url=https://arktimes.com/entertainment/2021/07/29/heat-and-pandemic-be-damned-phish-offered-a-brief-reprieve-at-the-walmart-amp-last-night |website=Arkansas Times |access-date=August 2, 2021 |date=July 29, 2021}} Beginning with their concerts at The Gorge Amphitheatre in late August, the band began requiring attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative test for COVID-19.{{cite web |last1=Sgueglia |first1=Kristina |title=Phish and Dead & Company will require proof of vaccination or negative Covid tests for upcoming shows |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/12/entertainment/phish-concerts/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=August 12, 2021}} During their 2021 Halloween concert, Phish debuted a set of new original science fiction-themed material under the guise of the fictional band Sci-Fi Soldier.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Performs Sci-Fi Soldier Halloween Concert In Las Vegas: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-tour-setlist-halloween-las-vegas-sci-fi-soldier |website=JamBase |access-date=November 1, 2021}} According to Pollstar, Phish were the ninth highest grossing concert act in the world in 2021, with a $44.4 million gross from 35 concerts.{{cite web |title=Pollstar 2021 Year End Special Issue: The Great Return |url=https://www.pollstar.com/article/pollstar-2021-year-end-special-issue-the-great-return-149349 |website=Pollstar |access-date=December 15, 2021}}{{cite web |title=Year-End Pollstar Top 100: Worldwide Tours |url=https://www.pollstar.com/Chart/2021/12/Top100WorldwideTours_983.pdf |website=Pollstar |access-date=December 15, 2021}} Phish also had the fifth highest concert ticket sales in the world in 2021, with 572,626 tickets sold.{{cite web |title=Year-End worldwide ticket sales: Top 100 tours |url=https://www.pollstar.com/Chart/2021/12/WorldwideTicketSalesTop100Tours_986.pdf |website=Pollstar |access-date=December 15, 2021}}

Due to an increase of cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in New York City, Phish postponed their 2021 New Year's Eve concerts at Madison Square Garden from December 2021 to April 2022.{{cite web |title=2021–2022 New Year's Run Update |url=https://phish.com/news/2021-2022-new-years-run-update/ |website=Phish |date=December 23, 2021 |access-date=December 23, 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Stein |first1=Aaron |title=Phish Concludes April 2022 Run At Madison Square Garden: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-tour-setlist-skinny-madison-square-garden-april-23 |website=JamBase |access-date=February 8, 2023}} In lieu of the traditional New Year's Eve concert, Phish instead performed a three set New Year's Eve concert on December 31, 2021, from a soundstage they dubbed "The Ninth Cube".{{cite web |title=Phish Announce New Year's 'Dinner And A Movie' Livestream |url=https://relix.com/news/detail/phish-announce-new-years-dinner-and-a-movie-livestream/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=December 28, 2021 |date=December 28, 2021}}

Phish released Get More Down, a studio version of their Sci-Fi Soldier material, on October 31, 2022.{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish 'Get More Down': It Appears A Sci-Fi Soldier Studio Album Has Arrived |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-sci-fi-soldier-get-more-down-studio-album |website=JamBase |access-date=October 31, 2022}} In August 2023, Phish performed two benefit concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York for recovery efforts following a flood in Vermont and upstate New York earlier that summer.{{cite web |last1=Dager |first1=Ashley |title=Phish concert aims to raise $3 million for flood victims in Vermont and upstate New York |url=https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/phish-concert-aims-to-raise-3-million-for-flood-victims-in-vermont-and-upstate-new-york |publisher=WRGB |access-date=August 26, 2023 |date=August 26, 2023}}{{cite web |title=Phish Announce Shows For Flood Recovery |url=https://phish.com/news/phish-announce-shows-for-flood-recovery/ |website=Phish |access-date=August 26, 2023 |date=July 25, 2023}} The band raised $3.5 million for the relief efforts through their two concerts and merchandise sales.{{cite web |last1=Herbert |first1=Geoff |title=Phish raises $3.5M for flood recovery efforts in Upstate NY and Vermont |url=https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2023/08/phish-raises-35m-for-flood-recovery-efforts-in-upstate-ny-and-vermont.html |website=The Post-Standard |access-date=August 28, 2023 |date=August 28, 2023}} The band performed a version of their Gamehendge song cycle at their 2023 New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden, which featured actors portraying the story's characters, and an appearance by actress and musician Annie Golden during the song "Harpua".{{cite web |title=Phish Perform "Gamehendge" for the First Time Since 1994 at MSG |url=https://jambands.com/news/2024/01/01/phish-perform-gamehendge-for-the-first-time-since-1994-at-msg/ |website=Jambands |access-date=January 1, 2024 |date=January 1, 2024}}

File:Phish Live at Sphere imagery on exosphere on April 20 2024.jpg during the band's four-date concert series at the venue in 2024]]

Phish performed four concerts at Sphere in Paradise, Nevada in April 2024, and were the second music act, after U2, to perform at the venue.{{cite web |title=Phish to headline limited engagement at Sphere in Las Vegas |url=https://news3lv.com/news/local/phish-to-headline-limited-engagement-at-sphere-in-las-vegas-rock-music-april-2024-trey-anastasio-jon-fishman-mike-gordon |publisher=KSNV |access-date=December 1, 2023 |date=November 30, 2023}} The concerts featured visual effects created by the Montreal studio Moment Factory.{{cite web |last1=Cornfield |first1=Josh |title=Here's how Phish is using the Sphere's technology to give fans something completely different |url=https://apnews.com/article/phish-sphere-technology-behind-scenes-11f85d75b0c34ae89f25b10941df54eb |website=AP News |access-date=April 20, 2024 |date=April 19, 2024}} The four shows grossed $13.4 million from 65,665 tickets sold.{{cite web|url=https://news.pollstar.com/2024/08/08/boxoffice-insider-ticket-sales-at-las-vegas-residencies-top-235m-so-far-in-2024/|title=Boxoffice Insider: Ticket Sales At Las Vegas Residencies Top $235M So Far In 2024|website=Pollstar|first=Bob|last=Allen|date=August 8, 2024|access-date=August 8, 2024}}

Evolve, Phish's sixteenth studio album, was released on July 12, 2024.{{cite magazine |last1=Martoccio |first1=Angie |title=Phish Announce First New Album in Over Four Years |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phish-new-album-evolve-las-vegas-sphere-1235002578/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 11, 2024 |date=April 11, 2024}} Mondegreen, a four-day Phish festival at the Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware, was held in August 2024.{{cite web |title=Announcing Mondegreen: A 4-Day Phish Festival |url=https://phish.com/news/announcing-mondegreen-a-4-day-phish-festival/ |website=Phish |access-date=January 16, 2024 |date=January 16, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Edgers |first1=Geoff |title=Phish is a jam band run by a control freak. That's perfect for the Sphere. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/04/11/phish-sphere-las-vegas-trey-anastasio/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 11, 2024 |url-access=subscription |date=April 11, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=McNaught |first1=Shannon Marvel |title=Major traffic expected in Dover area as Phish festival attendees leave late this afternoon |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2024/08/18/major-traffic-expected-in-dover-as-mondegreen-festival-ends/74851105007/ |website=The News Journal |access-date=August 18, 2024}} 45,000 people attended the four-day Mondegreen festival.{{cite web |last1=McNaught |first1=Shannon Marvel |title=Mondegreen: What went right, what went wrong at Phish's Dover festival |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2024/08/20/what-phish-mondegreen-festival-in-dover-was-like-for-attendees/74858372007/ |website=The News Journal |access-date=August 26, 2024}}

Phish were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time in 2025.{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=Mark |title=Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, OutKast and Phish get Rock Hall nominations |url=https://apnews.com/article/rock-hall-fame-nominees-2025-5807b2972d85827901a38949db6a25e9 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=February 12, 2025 |date=February 12, 2025}} Phish were not among the inductees for the class of 2025.{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=Mark |title=Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper and Outkast get into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |url=https://apnews.com/article/rock-hall-fame-2025-artists-8a7cde717004e0f459a382eb2e9bdb2c |agency=Associated Press |access-date=May 1, 2025 |date=April 28, 2025}} The members of Phish appeared in a Seinfeld parody sketch on an episode of Everybody's Live with John Mulaney in April 2025.{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=John Mulaney Had Phish In Seinfeld Costumes, John Cale & Maggie Rogers Discussing Dental Surgery |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2306367/john-mulaney-had-phish-in-seinfeld-costumes-john-cale-maggie-rogers-discussing-dental-surgery/news/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=May 1, 2025 |date=May 1, 2025}}

Phish were part of the jam band scene that gained prominence in the mid 1990s. Following the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, the Los Angeles Times named Phish as among the scene's most prominent bands, alongside Blues Traveler, the Dave Matthews Band, Spin Doctors, and Widespread Panic.{{cite web |last1=Crisafulli |first1=Chuck |title=POP MUSIC : Who'll Wear the Mantle of the Dead? : The scene looks familiar, but those aren't Deadheads—they're Phish Heads and fans of other jam-happy bands proudly embracing the Dead's legacy of musical improvisation and free-spirited community. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-29-ca-62451-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 24, 2024 |date=October 29, 1995}} Phish's popularity grew in the 1990s due to fans sharing concert recordings that had been taped by audience members and distributed online for free.{{cite web |last1=Jarnow |first1=Jesse |title=Phish Shreds America: How the Jam Band Anticipated Modern Festival Culture |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/from-the-pitchfork-review/9929-phish-shreds-america-how-the-jam-band-anticipated-modern-festival-culture/ |website=Pitchfork |date=August 15, 2016 |access-date=June 12, 2020 }} Phish were among the first musical acts to use the internet to grow their fanbase, with fans using file-sharing websites such as etree and BitTorrent to share concerts.{{cite web |last1=Gilmer |first1=Marcus |title=How Phish became the unlikely heroes of digital music streaming |url=https://mashable.com/article/phish-streaming-pioneers-band/ |website=Mashable |date=July 19, 2018 |access-date=June 20, 2020 }}

In 1998, Rolling Stone described Phish as "the most important band of the '90s".{{cite web |last1=Perella |first1=Dominic |title=Anastasio puts Phish behind him with strong solo effort |url=https://azdailysun.com/anastasio-puts-phish-behind-him-with-strong-solo-effort/article_2ef6ced0-1eb1-500c-85c4-35c5433b3c6e.html |website=Arizona Daily Sun |date=May 22, 2002 |access-date=September 25, 2018 }} Phish have been named as an influence by other acts in the jam band scene, including Umphrey's McGee and the Disco Biscuits{{cite web |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Nick |title=Umphrey's McGee Doesn't Want to Be Limited by the Jam-Band Label |url=https://www.westword.com/music/umphreys-mcgee-doesnt-want-to-be-limited-by-the-jam-band-label-10458974 |website=Westword |access-date=July 29, 2020 |date=July 4, 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Marc Brownstein On How He's Been Inspired By Phish |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/marc-brownstein-hes-inspired-phish |website=JamBase |access-date=July 29, 2020 |date=September 7, 2016}} Other musicians have also counted Phish as an influence, including Adam Levine and James Valentine of Maroon 5, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, and reggae musician Matisyahu.{{cite web |last1=Greenhaus |first1=Mike |title=TBT: Maroon 5's Thoughts On Phish |url=https://relix.com/blogs/detail/tbt-what-is-the-theme-of-this-everlasting-spoof-thoughts-on-phish/ |website=Relix |access-date=July 29, 2020 |date=April 23, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Deflin |first1=Kendall |title=Phishin' With Matisyahu: How LSD "Turned My Entire World Inside Out" |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/phish-matisyahu-nyc/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=July 29, 2020 |date=June 22, 2017}}{{cite magazine |last1=Applefeld Olsen |first1=Cathy |title=Radiohead's Ed O'Brien on His Brazil-Inspired Solo Debut 'Earth' |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9360518/radiohead-ed-obrien-earth |magazine=Billboard |access-date=July 29, 2020 |date=April 17, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Incubus' Brandon Boyd To Talk Phish Fandom On SiriusXM's Phish Radio |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/incubus-brandon-boyd-phish-radio-siriusxm |website=JamBase |access-date=January 8, 2022}}

Phish's festival events in the 1990s inspired the foundation of the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee, which was first held in 2002.{{cite web |last1=Paulson |first1=Dave |title=Without Phish, Bonnaroo might not exist: How the jam band created a blueprint for the festival |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/bonnaroo/2019/06/11/bonnaroo-2019-how-phish-paved-way-for-festival/1304196001/ |website=The Tennessean |access-date=May 26, 2020 }} Co-founder Rick Farman, a Phish fan, consulted Phish managers Richard Glasgow and John Paluska about festival infrastructure during the early stages of planning. The festivals also inspired other jam band-oriented concert events, such as the Disco Biscuits' Camp Bisco, Electric Forest Festival, and the Big Ears Festival.

Phish are well known to their loyal fans, called Phishheads, but the group's music and fan culture are otherwise polarizing to general audiences. The tribal nature of Phish supporters has encouraged comparisons of Phishheads to the Juggalos, followers of the hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nathan-rabin/you-dont-know-me-but-you-dont-like-me/|title=YOU DON'T KNOW ME BUT YOU DON'T LIKE ME|access-date=July 29, 2023|website=Kirkusreviews.com}} Phish heavily contributes to music-based tourism with their "traveling communities" of fans, and they have been simultaneously hailed and criticized for their near-constant tour dates, which bring with them the capital value of tourism and necessitates the increased security and community planning that come with any music festival.{{Cite thesis|last=Campbell|first=Richard Bret|title=A Sense of place: Examining music-based tourism and its implications in destination venue placement|type=Professional paper |publisher=University of Nevada, Las Vegas|year=2011|url=https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/1142/ |doi=10.34917/2523201}} Jordan Hoffman of Thrillist explains "the solace many find in attending religious services is somewhat mirrored for me in seeing Phish,"{{Cite web|last=Hoffman|first=Jordan|title=Your Friend's Phish Obsession, Explained|url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/phish-tour-popularity-fan-explainer|access-date=2020-06-15|website=Thrillist|date=July 6, 2016 }} and even though Phish fans are generally considered welcoming and friendly, the reception of the group from the outside is often one of unease and confusion.{{Cite news|last=Iosebashvili|first=Ira|date=August 20, 2018|title=Phish Fans Are Friendly—Until the Tarps Come Out to Save Seats |work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/phish-fans-are-friendlyuntil-the-tarps-come-out-to-save-seats-1534777773|access-date=2020-06-15|issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite thesis|last=Yeager|first=Elizabeth|title=Understanding 'It': Affective Authenticity, Space, and the Phish Scene|url=https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/7842/Yeager_ku_0099D_11492_DATA_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|type=PhD dissertation |publisher=University of Kansas |hdl=1808/7842}} The BBC listed Phish as one of "Eight smash US acts that Britain never understood" along with fellow jam bands Dave Matthews Band and Blues Traveler.{{cite web |last1=Dowling |first1=Stephen |title=Eight smash US acts that Britain never understood |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190402-eight-smash-us-acts-that-britain-never-understood |publisher=BBC |date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=September 19, 2021}} In describing the band to a British audience, BBC journalist Stephen Dowling wrote "Attending a Phish gig has become a rite of summer passage for American teens in the same way that attending Glastonbury has for British teenagers."

The band has a number of celebrity fans, including: Sean Avery,{{Cite web |title=Ex-NHLer Sean Avery Talks Phish Fandom In New Book |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/ex-nhler-sean-avery-talks-phish-fandom-new-book |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=JamBase}} Rocco Baldelli,{{cite web |last1=Boller |first1=Jay |title=Apparently new Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is SUPER into Phish {{!}} City Pages |url=http://www.citypages.com/music/apparently-new-twins-manager-rocco-baldelli-is-super-into-phish/498530522 |website=City Pages |access-date=October 25, 2018}} Drew Carey,{{Cite web |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=April 23, 2024 |title=Drew Carey Reviews Phish At The Sphere, Says He Would Stick His Dick In A Blender To Go Again |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2260593/drew-carey-reviews-phish-at-the-sphere-says-he-would-stick-his-dick-in-a-blender-to-go-again/news/ |access-date=April 24, 2024 |website=Stereogum}} Tucker Carlson,{{Cite web |title=Interview with Tucker Carlson |url=https://www.maxraskin.com/interviews/interview-with-tucker-carlson |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=Interviews with Max Raskin}} Joseph Gordon-Levitt,{{Cite web |date=August 14, 2020 |title=Listen: Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt Chokes Up Describing His Love for Phish on SiriusXM |url=https://relix.com/news/detail/listen-actor-joseph-gordon-levitt-chokes-up-describing-his-love-for-phish-on-siriusxm/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=Relix Media}} Abbi Jacobson,{{cite web |last1=Greenhaus |first1=Mike |title=Interview: Abbi Jacobson on Phish, Improv and the Rock-and-Roll Ethos of 'Broad City' |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/parting_shots_abbi_jacobson/ |website=Relix |access-date=December 3, 2024 |date=February 17, 2016}} Katy Tur,{{cite web |title=EXCLUSIVE: MSNBC's Katy Tur Talks Her Love Of Phish & Sneaking Lyrics Into The News |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/exclusive-katy-tur-interview/ |website=L4LM |access-date=October 25, 2018 |date=October 23, 2017}} Aron Ralston,{{cite web |title=Interview: Aron Ralston – The Listener |url=https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2011/interview-aron-ralston/ |website=Noted.co.nz |access-date=October 25, 2018}} and Bill Walton.{{Cite web |last=admin |date=July 14, 2015 |title=Deadhead Bill Walton Is Officially A Phish Phan |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/deadhead-bill-walton-is-now-a-phish-phan/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=L4LM}} Bernie Sanders, who was the mayor of Burlington when Phish formed, described them as "One of the great bands in this country" in 2016.{{cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Bernie Sanders on Phish: 'One of the Great Bands' in America |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/bernie-sanders-on-phish-one-of-the-great-bands-in-this-country-231597/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=December 2, 2023 |date=March 2, 2016}}

Phish has performed 87 concerts at Madison Square Garden since their debut performance there in 1994.{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Bryan Armen |title=Phish review – spiraling jams and communal bliss at Madison Square Garden |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jan/01/phish-review-spiraling-jams-and-communal-bliss-at-madison-square-garden |website=The Guardian |access-date=January 9, 2025 |date=January 1, 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Stein |first1=Aaron |title=Phish Revisits Past New Year's Eve Gags At Madison Square Garden: Recap, Setlist & The Skinny |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-madison-square-garden-new-years-eve-2022-setlist-skinny |website=JamBase |access-date=January 3, 2023}} In August 2023, Phish surpassed Elton John as the musical act with the second most concerts performed at Madison Square Garden, behind only record-holder Billy Joel.{{cite web |title=Phish Perform Longest "Mike's Song" Equipped with Second Jam for Penultimate Show of MSG Summer Run |url=https://jambands.com/news/2023/08/05/phish-perform-longest-mike-song-equipped-with-second-jam-for-penultimate-show-of-msg-summer-run/ |website=Jambands |access-date=August 18, 2023 |date=August 5, 2023}}

In 2019, Billboard ranked Phish as the 33rd highest-grossing concert touring act of the 2010s.{{cite magazine |title=Top Touring Artists – Decade-End |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/top-touring-artists |magazine=Billboard |date=October 31, 2019 |access-date=July 29, 2020}} In 2022, Pollstar listed Phish as the 33rd highest grossing touring act from 1980 to 2022, with a cumulative gross of $595.8 million.{{cite web |title=Top Grossing Artists of the Pollstar Era |url=https://data.pollstar.com/Chart/2022/07/072522_top.touring.artists_1020.pdf |website=Pollstar |access-date=August 28, 2023}} Pollstar also listed Phish as the act with the ninth most tickets sold in that same time frame, with 13.3 million tickets sold.{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Bob |title=Four Decades Of Live: Charting The Industry's Rich History – Pollstar News |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2022/07/28/four-decades-of-live-charting-the-industrys-rich-history/ |website=Pollstar |access-date=August 28, 2023 |date=July 28, 2022}}

According to The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, the music of Phish is "oriented around group improvisation and super-extended grooves".{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/phish/biography|title=Phish|access-date=2008-05-11|work=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414030730/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/phish/biography|archive-date=2009-04-14|url-status=dead}} Their songs draw on a range of rock-oriented influences, including funk, jazz fusion, progressive rock, bluegrass, and psychedelic rock.{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Sean |title=Jam band Phish to perform two shows at Hershey's Giant Center |url=https://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/2020/01/jam-band-phish-to-perform-two-shows-at-hersheys-giant-center.html |website=The Patriot-News |access-date=August 3, 2020 |date=January 23, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Plotnicki |first1=Gideon |title=Tracing The Evolution Of Jam: From Grateful Dead, To Phish, To The Disco Biscuits |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/tracing-evolution-jam-grateful-dead-phish-disco-biscuits |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=August 3, 2020 |date=October 4, 2016}} Some Phish songs use different vocal approaches, such as a cappella (unaccompanied) sections of barbershop quartet-style vocal harmonies.{{cite web |last1=Knickerbocker |first1=Brad |title=Phish: a Rock Quartet That Dabbles in Barbershop |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0423/23142.html |website=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=April 29, 2020 |date=April 23, 1993}} The band began to include barbershop segments in their concerts in 1993, when the four members began taking lessons from McConnell's landlord, who was a judge at barbershop competitions. In the 1997 official biography, The Phish Book, Anastasio coined the term "cow-funk" to describe the band's late 1990s funk and jazz-funk-influenced playing style, observing that "What we're doing now is really more about groove than funk. Good funk, real funk, is not played by four white guys from Vermont."{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=Phish Displayed Their "Cow Funk" Mastery In Philadelphia, On This Day In 1997 [Full Video] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/phish-philadelphia-spectrum-1997/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=October 8, 2018 |date=December 3, 2017}}

Phish were often compared to the Grateful Dead during the 1990s, a comparison that the band members often resisted or distanced themselves from.{{cite magazine |last1=Rabin |first1=Nathan |title=Phish Has Come To Terms With Its Life After the Dead |url=https://time.com/3857031/grateful-dead-phish-legacy/ |magazine=Time |access-date=May 26, 2020 }} The two bands were compared due to their emphasis on live performances, improvisational jamming style, musical similarities, and traveling fanbase.{{cite web |last1=Melamed |first1=Dave |title=Phish, The Grateful Dead, & The Joy Of Being In On The "Joke" |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/phish-grateful-dead-insider/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=May 26, 2020 |date=February 22, 2018}} In November 1995, Anastasio told The Baltimore Sun, "When we first came into the awareness of the media, it would always be the Dead or Zappa they'd compare us to. All of these bands I love, you know? But I got very sensitive about it."{{cite web |last1=Considine |first1=J. D. |title=Phish likes to be live, not Dead Similarities: The band has loyal followers and likes to improvise on stage, but it is not the next Grateful Dead. |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-11-22-1995326037-story.html |website=The Baltimore Sun |date=November 22, 1995 |access-date=April 1, 2019}} Early in their career, Phish would occasionally cover Grateful Dead songs in concert, but the band stopped doing so by the late 1980s.{{cite web |last1=Simon |first1=Leslie |title=Phish's twenty most interesting covers |url=https://www.westword.com/music/phishs-twenty-most-interesting-covers-5690377 |website=Westword |access-date=October 22, 2019 |date=September 26, 2013}}{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Diane |title=Phish Tales: A Rock Legend on the Importance of Being Kind |url=https://www.mainecannabischronicle.com/arts-and-culture/2019/09/01/phish-tales-a-rock-legend-on-the-importance-of-being-kind/ |website=Maine Cannabis Chronicle |access-date=October 22, 2019 }} In Phish: The Biography, Parke Puterbaugh observed "The bottom line is while it's impossible to imagine Phish without the Grateful Dead as forebears, many other musicians figured as influences upon them. Some of them – such as Carlos Santana and Frank Zappa – were arguably at least as significant as the Grateful Dead. In reality, the media certainly overplayed the Grateful Dead connection and Phish probably underplayed it, at least in their first decade."{{cite book |last1=Puterbaugh |first1=Parke |title=Phish: The Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=9780306819209 |pages=136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXD8AgAAQBAJ&q=dead+underplayed&pg=PA136 }} Anastasio has also cited progressive rock artists such as King Crimson and Genesis as significant influences on Phish's early material. In a 2019 New York Times interview, he observed, "If you listen to the first couple of Phish albums, they don't sound anything like the Grateful Dead. I was more interested in Yes."{{cite web |last1=Marchese |first1=David |title=Trey Anastasio on Phish, Jam Bands and Staying Together Forever |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/24/magazine/trey-anastasio-phish.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=June 30, 2019 |date=June 24, 2019}}

In his 2018 book Twilight of the Gods, music critic Steven Hyden wrote that he found the Grateful Dead and Phish to have "significantly different reference points" in terms of influence and style.{{cite book |last1=Hyden |first1=Steven |title=Twilight of the gods : a journey to the end of classic rock |date=2018 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-265712-1 |page=242 |edition=First}} The Grateful Dead, Hyden explained, were "informed by the totality of American music from the first sixty years of the twentieth century: Blues, country, folk, jazz, and early rock 'n' roll," while Phish's music contains elements of "hopped-up bluegrass, jazzy disco, porno-movie funk, Broadway theatricality, and shockingly sincere barbershop harmonies. But it all stems from classic rock." Hyden observed that "If the Dead encompasses American music from roughly 1900 to 1967, Phish picks up the story right through the AOR era, from '68 to around the time Stop Making Sense debuted in theaters in the mid-eighties."

{{main|Phish concert tours and festivals}}

The driving force behind Phish is the popularity of their concerts and the fan culture surrounding the event. Each a production unto itself, the band is known to consistently change set lists and details, as well as the addition of their own antics to ensure that no two shows are ever the same.{{cite web |title=Phish heads descend on Virginia |url=https://www.telegram.com/article/20090306/NEWS/903060293 |website=Worcester Telegram |access-date=May 26, 2020 }}{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Kirsten |title=Phish plays some surprises along with the expected {{!}} The Daily Gazette |url=https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/07/03/phish-plays-some-surprises-along-with-the-expected |website=dailygazette.com |date=July 3, 2019 |access-date=May 26, 2020}} With fans flocking to venues hours before they open, the concert is the centerpiece of an event that includes a temporary community in the parking lot similar to the "Shakedown Street" bazaar held outside Grateful Dead concerts.{{Cite book | author=Gibbon, Sean | title=Run Like an Antelope: On the Road with Phish | year=2001 | publisher=Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin | location=New York | isbn=0-312-26330-9 | page=[https://archive.org/details/runlikeantelopeo0000gibb/page/95 95] | url=https://archive.org/details/runlikeantelopeo0000gibb/page/95 }}

Similar to the Grateful Dead, Phish concerts typically feature two sets, with an intermission in between.{{cite news |last1=Greenberg |first1=Rudi |title=A jam-packed look at the similarities (and differences) between Dead & Company and Phish |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/2019/06/20/jam-packed-look-similarities-differences-between-dead-company-phish/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=March 17, 2022}} During concerts, songs often segue into one another, or produce improvisational jams that can last 10 minutes or more depending on the song.{{cite web |title=Segues: FAQ - Phish.net |url=https://phish.net/faq/segues |website=phish.net |access-date=March 17, 2022}} Several regularly performed songs in Phish's repertoire have never appeared on one of their studio albums; these include "Possum", "Mike's Song", "I Am Hydrogen", "Weekapaug Groove", "Harry Hood", "Runaway Jim", "Suzy Greenberg", "AC/DC Bag" and "The Lizards", all of which date to 1990 or earlier and have been played by Phish over 300 times in concert.{{cite web |title=Song Histories |url=http://phish.net/song |website=phish.net |access-date=April 11, 2019}}

Chris Kuroda, who has been Phish's lighting director since 1989, creates elaborate light displays during the band's concerts that are sometimes improvised in a similar fashion to their music.{{cite web |last1=Greenhaus |first1=Mike |title=Chris Kuroda: Visual Vocabularies |url=https://jambands.com/features/2016/07/25/chris-kuroda-visual-vocabularies/ |website=Jambands |access-date=September 10, 2022 |date=July 25, 2016}}{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Justin |title=Pieces of the Big Thing |url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/pieces-of-the-big-thing-taylor |website=The Baffler |access-date=September 10, 2022 |date=September 5, 2022}} Justin Taylor of The Baffler wrote, "You could hate this music with every fiber of your being and still be ready to give Chris Kuroda a MacArthur "genius" grant for what he achieves with his light rig." Kuroda is often referred to by fans as the unofficial fifth member of the band, and has been given the nickname "CK5".{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=Phish LD Chris Kuroda Explains The Unlikely Origins Of His Lighting Design Career [Watch] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/media/video/phish-chris-kuroda-explains-makeitshine/ |website=L4LM |access-date=September 10, 2022 |date=February 1, 2018}}

Since Phish fans began to discuss the band's live performances on the internet in the late 1990s, they have developed a widely used framework for analyzing the varied forms of improvisation that would regularly occur during a given show. A January 1997 post by Phish fan John Flynn on the rec.music.phish Usenet group first defined the two "types" of jamming that Phish performs in concert. Flynn wrote: "I think Phish jamming falls into two types of jamming: 1) Jamming that is based around a fixed chord progression 2) Jamming that improvises chord progressions, rhythms, and the whole structure of the music." Since then, Phish fans have used the terms "Type 1" and "Type 2" and Flynn's definitions to contextualize the structure of Phish's shows and songs.{{Cite web |title=Revisiting "Jamming Types" - Phish.net |url=https://phish.net/blog/1311714510/revisiting-jamming-types.html |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=phish.net}}{{Cite web |title=FAQ - Phish.net |url=https://phish.net/faq/jamming-types |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=phish.net}}

Because Phish's reputation is so grounded in their live performances, concert recordings are commonly traded commodities. In December 2002, the band launched the LivePhish website, from which official soundboard recordings can be purchased.{{cite web |title=LivePhish Downloads Launches |url=https://phish.com/news/live-phish-downloads-launches/ |website=Phish.com |date=December 20, 2002 |access-date=May 26, 2020}} Legal field recordings produced by tapers with boom microphones from the audience in compliance with Phish's tape trading policy{{cite web | title = Frequently Asked Questions – What is the Phish and Band Member Taping Policy? | publisher = Phish.com | url = http://phish.com/faq/#taping-guidelines | access-date = October 3, 2018}} are frequently traded on any number of music message boards. Although technically not allowed, live videos of Phish shows are also traded by fans and are tolerated as long as they are for non-profit, personal use. Phish fans have been noted for their extensive collections of fan-taped concert recordings; owning recordings of entire tours and years is widespread.

Fans' recordings are generally sourced from the officially designated tapers' section at each show, by fans with devoted sound recording rigs. Tickets for the tapers' section are acquired separately from regular audience tickets, and directly from the band's website, instead of the venue or a service like Ticketmaster. However, tapers are also required to purchase a general admission ticket for concerts.{{cite web |title=Official Phish Tickets Website |url=http://tickets.phish.com/information/ |website=tickets.phish.com |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024152531/http://tickets.phish.com/information/ |url-status=dead }} Recordings patched from Paul Languedoc's soundboard were also made until 1994 and circulated among fans.{{cite web |title=FAQ: Recording Sources |url=https://phish.net/faq/recording-sources |website=phish.net |access-date=October 28, 2023}}

In 2014, the band launched their own on-demand streaming service, LivePhish+.{{cite web |last=Geslani |first=Michelle |title=Phish launch streaming subscription service LivePhish+ |url=https://consequence.net/2014/10/phish-launch-streaming-subscription-service-livephish/ |website=Consequence of Sound |access-date=September 16, 2018 |date=October 30, 2014}} The platform features hundreds of soundboard recordings of the band's concerts for streaming, including all of their shows from 2002 onwards, as well as all of their studio albums.{{cite web |last=Gilmer |first=Marcus |title=How Phish became the unlikely heroes of digital music streaming |url=https://mashable.com/article/phish-streaming-pioneers-band/ |website=Mashable |date=July 19, 2018 |access-date=September 16, 2018 }} Phish continues to allow fans to tape and distribute audience recordings of their concerts after the launch of the LivePhish storefront and streaming services.

Several books on Phish have been published, including two official publications: The Phish Book, a 1998 coffee table book credited to the band members and journalist Richard Gehr which focused on the band's activities during 1996 and 1997,{{cite web |last=Browne |first=David |title=The Phish Book |url=https://ew.com/article/1998/11/27/phish-book/ |website=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=April 8, 2019 }} and Phish: The Biography, a semi-official biographical book written by music journalist and Phish fan Parke Puterbaugh, was published in 2009 and was based on interviews with the four band members, their friends and crew.{{cite web |last=Robbins |first=Brian |title=Phish: The Biography review |url=https://glidemagazine.com/14923/phish-the-biography/ |website=Glide Magazine |date=November 20, 2009 |access-date=April 8, 2019}} An installment of the 33⅓ book series on A Live One, written by Walter Holland, was published in 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/phishs-a-live-one-9781628929386/|title=Phish's A Live One|website=Bloomsbury Publishing}} The 2013 book You Don't Know Me but You Don't Like Me: Phish, Insane Clown Posse, and My Misadventures with Two of Music's Most Maligned Tribes, written by music critic Nathan Rabin, compares and contrasts the fanbases of Phish and Insane Clown Posse.{{cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |title=Juggalos and Phish Fans Explored in New Book |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/insane-clown-posses-juggalos-and-phish-fans-explored-in-new-book-105328/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 11, 2013}}

In addition to books, there have been multiple podcasts which have focused on Phish, its music and fanbase as their central topics of discussion. Among the first was Analyze Phish, which was hosted by comedians Harris Wittels and Scott Aukerman for the Earwolf podcast network, and ran for ten episodes posted between 2011 and 2014.{{cite web |title=Phish 101, episode #1 of Analyze Phish on Earwolf |url=https://www.earwolf.com/episode/phish-101/ |website=Earwolf.com |access-date=January 5, 2020}}{{cite web |title=Fuego, episode #10 of Analyze Phish on Earwolf |url=https://www.earwolf.com/episode/fuego/ |website=Earwolf.com |access-date=January 5, 2020}} The podcast followed Wittels, a devoted fan of the band, in his humorous attempts to get Aukerman to enjoy their music.{{cite web |last=Morchala |first=Chris |title=Harris Wittels: The Parks and Rec Writer Gets to "Analyze Phish" (Throwback) |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/harris-wittels-the-parks-and-rec-writer-gets-to-analyze-phish/ |website=Relix |access-date=January 5, 2020 |date=February 26, 2015}} Despite its truncated run, Analyze Phish inspired Phish lyricist Tom Marshall to start his own Phish podcast, Under the Scales, in 2016.{{cite web |last=Greenhaus |first=Mike |title=Interview: Tom Marshall and RJ Bee on New Podcast Network Osiris |url=https://relix.com/articles/detail/interview_tom_marshall_and_rj_bee_on_new_podcast_network_osiris/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=January 5, 2020 |date=February 22, 2018}} In 2018, Marshall co-founded the Osiris Podcasting Network, which hosts Under the Scales and other music podcasts, many of which are devoted to Phish or other jam bands. In September 2019, C13Originals debuted Long May They Run, a music documentary podcast series; The first season, consisting of 10 episodes, focused on Phish's history and influence on the live music scene.{{cite web |title='Long May They Run' Podcast Explores Phish History for Debut Season (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2019/music/news/long-may-they-run-podcast-phish-history-1203336394/ |website=Variety |date=September 16, 2019}} In November 2019, the Osiris Podcasting Network premiered After Midnight, a five-episode documentary series exploring the creation, execution, and aftermath of Phish's 1999 Big Cypress festival.{{cite web |title=After Midnight: Phish's Big Cypress Festival |url=https://www.osirispod.com/podcasts/after-midnight-phishs-big-cypress-festival/ |website=Osirispod.com |access-date=September 17, 2020}}

Seattle Seahawks fans began mimicking Phish's song "Wilson" by chanting the song's opening line when quarterback Russell Wilson took the field during games. The new tradition started after Anastasio made the suggestion at shows in Seattle.{{cite web |last=Chase |first=Chris |title=Trey Anastasio explains how a Phish song became the rallying cry of Seahawks fans everywhere |url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/phish-russell-wilson-trey-anastasio |website=USA Today |access-date=August 3, 2020 |date=January 31, 2014}} The story behind the "Wilson" chant was featured in a 2014 documentary short by NFL Films.{{cite web |title=NFL Films segment on the Phish and Russell Wilson connection is great |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/nfl-films-segment-phish-and-russell-wilson-connection-great-0 |website=NBC Sports Philadelphia |access-date=August 3, 2020 |date=January 2, 2014}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Current members

• Trey Anastasio – guitar, lead vocals (1983–2004; 2008–present)
• Jon Fishman – drums, percussion, vocals, vacuum (1983–2004; 2008–present)
• Mike Gordon – bass, vocals (1983–2004; 2008–present)
• Page McConnell – keyboards, vocals (1985–2004; 2008–present)

;Auxiliary personnel

• Tom Marshall – songwriting, occasional backing vocals (1984–2004; 2008–present)
• Chris Kuroda – concert lighting director (1989–2004; 2008–present)
• Paul Languedoc – sound engineer (1986–2004), luthier (1986–2004; 2008–present)

{{col-2}}

Former members

• Jeff Holdsworth – guitar, vocals (1983–1986; guest in 2003)

Former touring musicians

• Marc Daubert – percussion, backing vocals (1984–1985)
• Giant Country Horns or Cosmic Country Horns – horn section (1991, 1994)

{{col-end}}

{{#tag:timeline|

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id:bass value:blue legend:Bass,_vocals

id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards,_vocals

id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_vacuum,_vocals

id:song value:lavender legend:Songwriting

id:lights value:pink legend:Lighting_director

id:perc value:claret legend:Percussion,_backing_vocals

id:horns value:gray(0.6) legend:Horn_section

id:touring value:yellow legend:Touring_musician

id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album

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at:05/08/1989 color:black layer:back

at:09/21/1990 color:black layer:back

at:02/18/1992 color:black layer:back

at:02/02/1993 color:black layer:back

at:03/29/1994 color:black layer:back

at:10/15/1996 color:black layer:back

at:10/27/1998 color:black layer:back

at:06/03/1999 color:black layer:back

at:05/16/2000 color:black layer:back

at:12/10/2002 color:black layer:back

at:06/15/2004 color:black layer:back

at:09/08/2009 color:black layer:back

at:06/24/2014 color:black layer:back

at:10/07/2016 color:black layer:back

at:04/02/2020 color:black layer:back

at:07/12/2024 color:black layer:back

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bar:Trey text:"Trey Anastasio"

bar:Jeff text:"Jeff Holdsworth"

bar:Mike text:"Mike Gordon"

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bar:Page text:"Page McConnell"

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bar:CK5 text:"Chris Kuroda"

bar:Marc text:"Marc Daubert"

bar:Giant text:"Giant Country Horns"

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bar:Jon from:12/02/1983 till:10/07/2000 color:drums

bar:Jon from:12/02/1983 till:10/07/2000 color:perc width:3

bar:Jon from:10/05/2002 till:08/15/2004 color:drums

bar:Jon from:10/05/2002 till:08/15/2004 color:perc width:3

bar:Jon from:10/01/2008 till:end color:drums

bar:Jon from:10/01/2008 till:end color:perc width:3

bar:Mike from:12/02/1983 till:10/07/2000 color:bass

bar:Mike from:10/05/2002 till:08/15/2004 color:bass

bar:Mike from:10/01/2008 till:end color:bass

bar:Page from:05/03/1985 till:10/07/2000 color:keys

bar:Page from:10/05/2002 till:08/15/2004 color:keys

bar:Page from:10/01/2008 till:end color:keys

bar:Jeff from:12/02/1983 till:05/17/1986 color:guitar

bar:Marc from:03/11/1984 till:02/28/1985 color:perc

bar:Giant from:07/11/1991 till:07/27/1991 color:horns

bar:Giant from:05/04/1994 till:12/03/1994 color:horns

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bar:Tom from:10/23/1984 till:10/07/2000 color:song

bar:Tom from:10/05/2002 till:08/15/2004 color:song

bar:Tom from:10/01/2008 till:end color:song

bar:CK5 from:03/01/1989 till:10/07/2000 color:lights

bar:CK5 from:10/05/2002 till:04/13/2004 color:lights

bar:CK5 from:06/17/2004 till:08/15/2004 color:lights

bar:CK5 from:10/01/2008 till:end color:lights

bar:Marc from:03/11/1984 till:02/28/1985 color:touring

bar:Giant from:07/11/1991 till:07/27/1991 color:touring

bar:Giant from:05/04/1994 till:12/03/1994 color:touring

}}

{{main|Phish discography}}

{{col div}}

• Junta (1989)
• Lawn Boy (1990)
• A Picture of Nectar (1992)
• Rift (1993)
• Hoist (1994)
• Billy Breathes (1996)
• The Story of the Ghost (1998)
• The Siket Disc (1999)
• Farmhouse (2000)
• Round Room (2002)
• Undermind (2004)
• Joy (2009)
• Fuego (2014)
• Big Boat (2016)
• Sigma Oasis (2020)
• Evolve (2024)

{{col div end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{sisterlinks|d=Q921267|commons=Category:Phish|b=no|v=no|voy=no|s=no|n=no|wikt=no|mw=no|m=no|species=no}}

• {{official website}}

{{Phish|state=expanded}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

Category:Musical groups established in 1983

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Category:Jammy Award winners

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Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2009

Category:American progressive rock groups

Category:1983 establishments in Vermont

Category:MapleMusic Recordings artists

Category:Elektra Records artists

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