Following the highly successful Phish Studies Conferences in 2019 and 2024, and establishment of a new area at the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association conference in 2025, the Phish Studies Association (PSA) is thrilled to announce that it has officially incorporated as a 501©(3) non-profit academic organization and is currently accepting memberships. The association’s ongoing webinar series, Phish Studies 101, continues Wednesday, March 25th at 8:00 pm EST via Zoom.

“This organization is the result of years of work and we are so excited that it has come to fruition. This formal incorporation allows us to expand our mission,” says PSA President Christina Allaback. “We are excited to continue creating a space for academics and fans to explore these ideas."

The association’s mission is to increase the intellectual rigor, breadth, and engagement of Phish-related scholarship, generating professional satisfaction and joy through a mix of academically-focused activities and outreach to music fans. Membership will fund most of the organization’s outreach and will include benefits such as newsletters, access to scholarships, and entry into two scheduled Phish Studies 101 webinars every year. Regular annual membership is $40 at phishstudies.org, and there are also opportunities to become a charter or lifetime member.

Executive Director Paul Jakus comments that “PSA hopes to preserve the unique history of Phish’s music, document the ad hoc communities and subcultures that surround Phish, and illustrate why they are important to the human experience. Our ultimate goal is to make Phish research and creative endeavors accessible to a wider, non-academic audience.”

In that spirit, the next installment of Phish Studies 101 (PS101) takes place virtually March 25th at 8pm Eastern. Our featured presenter is Joel Gershon, an award-winning documentarian and media educator, presenting his research on accessibility at Phish shows. His presentation, “Inside Inside This Silent Scene” draws on experiences and interviews with Deaf concertgoers and explores the experiences of Deaf and Hard of Hearing fans navigating live music spaces. The entire session will have live captions enabled. This presentation is a chapter in the book, Concepts We’ll Ponder: Identity, Improvisation, and Community in the Phish Experience, released last month from Bloomsbury press. The book can be purchased on the publisher’s website.

The webinar’s “second set” will feature a Guided Listening Session led by music scholars, who will walk participants through an in-depth analysis of a Phish jam. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with all the scholars involved through a Q&A session.

All PS101 sessions are hosted online and recorded for later access for registered participants, with one every year in the Spring and one in the Fall. Become a member of the PSA and automatically get admission to both Phish Studies 101 webinars for the year, plus other member benefits, for $10 total off the individual price of two yearly PS101 sessions: https://phishstudies.org/membership/. Tickets are available at $25 for a single session here: https://phishstudies.org/phish-studies-101/.

For the most up to date information, follow the Phish Studies Association on Instagram, Bluesky, or Facebook.

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