Phish will launch its first summer tour in five years with a two-night stand at the Nikon Theatre at Jones Beach in Wantagh, N.Y., June 4-5. The band resumed rehearsals Thursday in preparation for the upcoming shows.
Phish's summer tour will be preceded by a trio of concerts March 6-8 at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. The shows at the 13,800-capacity venue sold out just seconds after tickets went on sale last fall. They will mark the group's first concerts since its August 2004 performance at the Coventry festival in Vermont.
Phish - comprising guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman, bassist Mike Gordon and keyboardist Page McConnell — has released 11 studio albums, five concert videos and a series of 44 complete live concert CDs, including 13 on its own JEMP Records.
McConnell is the son of Dr. Jack McConnell, founder of the Volunteers in Medicine clinic on Hilton Head Island.
Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983, Phish quickly became renowned for its live performances.
"Phish offers something rare in pop: a long, complex, and completely different show every night," said the Village Voice.
The GRAMMY-nominated band became one of the top touring groups in the U.S. and, by 1998, Rolling Stone had proclaimed Phish the most important band of the decade.
Phish will release "The Clifford Ball," March 3 on JEMP Records/Rhino. This archival release features the band's entire performance at the 1996 festival, which was the largest concert in North America that year and the first of many two-day festivals staged by the group.
More than 70,000 fans turned out for the event, which was held at a decommissioned Air Force base in Plattsburgh, N.Y. The seven-DVD box set will contain more than nine hours of music, including a bonus disc with Phish's extended soundcheck, its late night flatbed truck jam and a 30-minute featurette with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. The original multi-track recordings have been remixed for stereo and 5.1 audio.
In addition, the band offers a selection of 88 full-concert downloads at livephish.com.
For more information, visit phish.com/
Hilton Head Monthly Magazine Voice of the Lowcountry 
