Dear Phish Family,
I just want to echo what Kevin shared and add my own feel to it.
For me, Phish has always represented experimentation, exploration, and boundary-pushing. That’s what makes this band unlike anything else. The new material is where I feel that spirit most alive — it’s open, fluid, uncharted. There isn’t a map yet, no set rubric of “this is what this jam will do.” It’s raw creation happening right in front of us.
When Trey and the band bring a new song forward, I hear it as them trusting themselves enough to keep going deeper, to keep playing what they feel called to. That’s the kind of courage that drew us all here in the first place. If we as a community get too hung up on only wanting “the old songs,” or more directly calling it out “our expectations” we risk pulling against that flow and missing the very thing that makes Phish so magical.
I also believe there’s a whole group of us — maybe quieter than the loudest voices online — who truly feel the transcendent heart-space open most when the band is exploring newer jams. I feel the music may even gain a new potency if by the band feeling deeper into what the truly wanted to play thinned out the crowd some.
So I just want to say: I love the new songs, I love the old songs. I love the risks. I love the fresh palettes and wild colors they bring. And I want the band to feel our support in leaning even more into what they truly desire to play. Because when they trust that, we all win.
Much love,
Stephen