It wasn’t all that long ago that Phish announced it would perform this year’s version of its legendary New Year’s shows over a four night run at Madison Square Garden in New York, but frontman Trey Anastasio already is looking into the future. On Monday, he announced his first ever orchestral tour—dubbed the Trey Anastasio Winter Symphony Tour—that will begin in February 2012. Though the trek is only four dates long, there will be about a week in between each show, so the tour will stretch from February 9 to March 10. Beginning in Atlanta, then moving to Pittsburgh and Denver before concluding in Los Angeles, Anastasio will make use of each cities respective symphony orchestras at each stop.

At each show, Anastasio will play orchestral versions of a wide variety of Phish songs, as well as mixing in selections from his own solo catalog. Though this will be the singer/songwriter/guitarist’s first symphony tour, he previously has played with orchestras on a few occasions. Most notably, he worked closely with Orchestra Nashville composer Don Hart to produce Time Turns Elastic, a long form piece that was recorded by that orchestra and later played live with the same group of musicians at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Anastasio later performed the work in Baltimore and at Carnegie Hall in New York, and Phish also has played a new version of the song.

Joining Anastasio at all shows will be Scott Dunn, who is the associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the group that will accompany the singer at the final show of the tour.

As per recent tradition, all four Phish New Year’s Eve shows already have sold out, and as of now are the only announced future dates for the band.

Trey Anastasio, front man for jam band gods Phish, once told the New York Times he wanted to play a 30-hour show. We’ll have to wait to see if this ever actually happens (with Phish, you never know), but the band may come close this New Year’s Eve…sort of.

The Burlington, Vt. based 4-piece recently announced a four night New Year’s Eve run at New York’s fabled Madison Square Garden from December 28 to December 31 of this year. With Phish shows often (read: usually) clocking in at over three hours apiece, the run may be the closest Phish phans get to that 30-hour show.

Known for its extravagant New Year’s shows, the band is already expanding on last year’s production that consisted of three nights at the Garden. Those show featured dancers, balloons, and the band disappearing from the stage shortly before midnight only to reappear on the other side of the Garden in a giant hot dog. Yes, a hot dog. So what other standards have the band set at previous New Year’s shows that it will be looking to top this year? Let’s have a look at the short list.

There are usually dancers, either onstage or elevated above the audience, and often both. In 1996, the band set a record at the time for the most balloons dropped, as 79,627 balloons descended on the audience at midnight. One time the stage was transformed into a giant aquarium, and at another show it was a giant terrarium featuring actual grass. A stagehand was once suspended above the stage in something resembling a chicken suit. And to ring in the new millennium, Phish performed a rare outdoor New Year’s Eve gig on December 31, 1999 and played a midnight to sunrise set, lasting over seven hours (!).

Obviously there’s a lot to live up to here, but Phish is known for producing the unexpected, and no one would expect this year to be an exception. Stay tuned for any more news of the shows as it comes in, though usually the band is pretty mum about what we can expect until the shows actually happen. Happy early New Year!

In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Trey Anastasio revealed that this winter Phish will begin working in the studio on a new album. The Phish guitarist admitted that the band is planning to start working on their first studio set since their 2009 release “Joy and Party Time.” Anastasio also said the band is planning to do less touring in 2012. He said, we are discussing the possibility of some type of new album for this winter. It looks like we will be doing less touring next year, mostly due to some of our band members having family obligations. This winter we want to start working on a new project. It’s still undefined. We will keep it like that on purpose. We’ll get together, then see where things go.

Recently, Phish debuted “Steam,” the new song from Tom Marshall and Anastasio. Following Super Ball IX, Phish had a couple dates in August and September booked, but will then be off road for the rest of the fall. Anastasio also mentioned in the interview that he loves Beach House, the indie band, as well as possibly covering the Metallica song “Master of Puppets.”

On Monday, producers announced that Arcade Fire, Phish and Muse will be headlining the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival’s fourth annual edition. The event will be returning to their original run of three days on August 12-14 at Golden Gate Park.

Over 50 performers and bands are scheduled to perform at the mega event, including big name artists like the Roots, the Decemberists, Girl Talk, MGMT and the Black Keys. On Thursday tickets will be going on sale.

We are ecstatic about this stated Gregg Perloff, Another Planet Entertainment founder, the concert-promotion firm from Berkeley co-presenting the festival along with New Orleans-based Super Fly Productions, who also present Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music and Art Festival. We believe this is the world’s best lineup.

Organizers last year had to cope with a summer concert season that was sluggish by trimming down the festival to just two days. The event still drew approximately 80,000 people over the course of the weekend to the park. Perloff is hoping with the bill this year to have even bigger numbers.

He said, the great thing about these bands is that they are credible and popular. That combination is rare.

Other performers scheduled to make appearances include OK Go and Beirut, Erykah Badu, the Original Meters, Deadmau5, Warren Haynes Band, Big Audio Dynamite, Arctic Monkeys and John Fogerty. Two sets will be formed by Phish. SFOutsideLands.com lists the complete lineup.

Once again, the festival will be spotlighting several local wineries and restaurants. Several art installations will also be spread across Speedway Meadow and Polo Field.

Perloff said, each year we want to do things better. This is a work in progress. However we have always thought to hit our stride would take four years.

Three days passes for Outside Land Music and Arts Festival taking place on August 12-14 will cost $175 to $199.50. Three day VIP tickets cost $450. A three day VIP parking pass will cost $140. For more information, visit SFOutsideLands.com.

Following their reunion, Phish is still wildly popular and as such, has decided to tour in the United States this summer.

The first concerts will be on Memorial Day Weekend (May 27, 28, 29) in Bethel, NY at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The tour will see 18 concerts including the final concert on June 19 in Portsmouth, VA at nTelos Wireless Pavilion.

In addition to the three dates in a row on Memorial Day, the group will play consecutive concerts in Homdel NJ on May 31 and June 1 at PNC Bank Arts Center. Another group of concerts is scheduled for June 11 and June 12 in Columbia, MD at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The final multi-concert set will be on June 14 and June 15 in Alpharetta, GA at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

Fans can make requests for tickets using Phish’s Internet-based ticketing program. After a set number of tickets is awarded by way of lottery, the general public can purchase tickets on March 11 and March 12. Based on information from their website, the tickets will cost between $45 and $65 plus fees.

There is every indication that Phish will add more concerts to their tour this summer, but they will not be verified until later. However, according to the band’s site, once the summer tour is over, “the band has no touring plans for the remainder of the year.

Following a break that lasted 5 years, Phish began touring again in the spring of 2009 beginning with a set of shows in Hampton, VA. They continued their tour in the summer and fall of 2009 and the summer and fall of 2010.

Frontman Trey Anastasio, after three successful Phish shows rang the New Year in, has announced a string of dates for next month that will feature a solo set from Anastasio and set from the entire band as well.

Phish, which currently includes Anastasio and six other musicians, are kicking off their “Acoustic/Electric Tour” in Portland, ME on February 18. The outing of 11 cities will hit both coasts but also make its way to the Midwest for concerts in Columbus, OH on February 26; Chicago on February 27 and in Denver on March 1 and 2.

Ticket presales will start on January 14 and run until January 20 at Phish’s website. General onsales will start on January 21.

According to a recent press release, each of the shows will be featuring an entire acoustic set by Anastasio as well as a complete electric set featuring the entire band. It’s the first tour like this for Anastasio since 1999 when he launched his solo career.

The Trey Anastasio Band in December released a live album called “TAB at the Tab.” It was recorded last February at a performance in Atlanta. The most recent studio album from Anastasio is “Time Turns Elastic.” It was released in May 2009.

Come October, jam icons Phish will be hitting the road to perform in eight cities across the Midwest and east coast with half of the itinerary entailing two to three stops per city.

The tour will kick off on October 8 with a show in Austin, TX followed by the first of a series of multiple-nighters for the band when they hit Broomfield, CO from October 10-12.  Other multiple-nighters in the tour include shows in South Carolina (North Charleston), Massachusetts (Amherst) and to wrap the tour up, a three-night Halloween performance in Atlantic City, NJ from October 29 to 31.

The Atlantic City show will be the first for Phish and is also among the several remarkable Halloween performances that the band has staged almost every year.  As a glimpse of what to expect in a Phish Halloween show, on its second night, the band spins an entire album from another artist throughout the entire performance, and last year the band covered “Exile on Main St.” from the Rolling Stones.

The band also announced that only a handful of tickets will be available for presale opportunities happening until September 3.   General on sale tickets can be availed on September 10 and 11 and each ticket buyer will have access to free copies of each of the band’s performances in MP3 format which they can download at livephish.com.

Fans who won’t be able to score tickets for the tour will still receive a special perk from the band, a free copy of “Live Bait”, a 10-track sampler release featuring live cuts recorded during the early phase of the band’s tour this year.  The track “Show of Life” is also included in the album which was first heard live this summer.

2010 Phish Concert Tour
October 2010
8 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
10-12 – Broomfield, CO – 1stBank Center
15-16 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum
19 – Augusta, ME – Augusta Civic Center
20 – Utica, NY – Utica Memorial Auditorium
22 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center
23-24 – Amherst, MA – Mullins Center
26 – Manchester, NH – Verizon Wireless Arena
29-31 – Atlantic City, NJ – Boardwalk Hall

The Austin City Limits Music Festival, over the last eight years, has evolved into one of the biggest and best music festivals in the US. Its all-star lineup rivals other well known festivals such as Lollapallooza, Bonnaroo and Coachella. From October 8-10, Austin City Limits Music Festival will be held in Austin at Zilker Park for its ninth annual festival.

Festival organizers announced the 2010 billing on May 18, which is quite eclectic this year. On October 8, The Strokes and Phish will be the headliners. On October 9, the headliner will be Muse. The weekend will be wrapping up with headliners The Flaming Lips and the Eagles on October 10.

Currently, single day tickets are on sale at a price of $85 each. The three day pass allotment for the festival has sold out already for all time ranges and available prices, including Early Bird passes at $145, Advance Passes at $165, and Regular Passes at $185. According to a Billboard report, the three day passes all sold out after they went on sale on April 21 in 14 hours.

ACL this year is offering at-home free ticket printing as well as all-in pricing on ticket face values. These printing and pricing options have been made in an attempt to simplify ticketing processes and save festival attendees on charges and fees normally added in the late stages of ticket orders.

An ACL statement read that their charge-free service pricing means that there will be no additional service fees added to published ticket prices. We want to simplify the process of ticket buying by making things simple and clear, with no additional surprises when checking out.

The gigantic lineup includes artists having some of the more highly anticipated new releases, including Norah Jones ( November 2009 release “The Fall”); Vampire Weekend (January 12 release “Contra”); Spoon (January 19 release “Transference”); and LCD Soundsystem (May 18 release “This is Happening”).

The final schedule for the festival is still forthcoming. However a majority of the acts have been booked already for specific dates. Scheduling details and performances dates will be updates on ACL’s official website.

Vermont based band Phish will be finding new life after their 2009 tour as they book dates for a concert run this summer. The 29-city trek will start June 11 in Chicago, Illinois and close with a two-night stand at Wantaugh, New York’s Nikon Theatre at Jones Beach on August 17 & 18. A full schedule of Phish tour dates can be found below, and tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster on April 2 and presale tickets will be offered via Phish’s official website beginning March 26.

Phish is currently supporting their latest release “Joy” which was produced by Steve Lillywhite (Dave Matthews Band, U2) who produced the band’s 1996 effort “Billy Breathes.” The album topped out at the 13 spot on the Billboard Album Charts. The album represented the band’s first work since 2004s “Undermind” which saw the band take a five-year hiatus from recording or touring.

2010 Phish Concert Tour
June 2010
11 – Chicago, IL – Toyota Park
12 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
13 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
15 – Portsmouth, VA – nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center
17, 18 – Hartford, CT – Comcast Theatre
19, 20 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
22, Mansfield, MA – Comcast Center
24, 25 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
26, 27 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
29 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC

July 2010
1- Raleigh, NC – Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
2 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
3, 4 – Alpharetta, GA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Encore Park

August 2010
5-7 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
9, 10 – Telluride, CO – Telluride Town Park
12, 13 – Noblesville, IN – Verizon Wireless Music Center
14, 15 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
17, 18 – Wantagh, NY – Nikon Theater at Jones Beach

Well it’s official. 2009 is days away from coming to a close so it’s time to pull out all of those best of the decade lists. They are exhaustive, tedious and largely subjective, but this one is interesting. Pollstar has released a list of the most successful touring artists over the past decade judged by box office receipts. The touring machine that is Dave Matthews Band took top honors pulling in $529.1 million on 11.6 million tickets sold. Celine Dion, Kenny Chesney, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones round out the top 5 with James Taylor sliding into the number 50 slot. $116.3 million still isn’t a bad haul for a man long past his prime. There aren’t too many surprises snuck in here. Most of your arena bands are represented. Who will be the topping the charts when we look back in 2019? Only time will tell.

1. Dave Matthews Band; $529.1 million; 11.6 million.
2. Celine Dion; $522.2; 4.
3. Kenny Chesney; $455.6; 8.6.
4. Bruce Springsteen; $444.3; 5.7.
5. The Rolling Stones; $426.9; 3.2.
6. U2; $391; 4.4.
7. Madonna; $325.3; 2.1.
8. Eagles; $313.4; 2.8.
9. Elton John; $286.4; 2.5.
10. Jimmy Buffett; $285.8; 4.5.
11. Toby Keith; $273.8; 6.4.
12. Cher; $263.5; 3.5.
13. Elton John/Billy Joel; $261.6; 2.3.
14. Bon Jovi; $241.4; 3.2.
15. Metallica; $225.5; 3.6.
16. Rascal Flatts; $222.4; 4.5.
17. Paul McCartney; $221.4; 1.4.
18. NSYNC; 196.4; 3.8.
19. Britney Spears; $195.7; 3.5.
20. Trans-Siberian Orchestra; $194.9; 4.7.
21. Aerosmith; $193.2; 3.2.
22. Tim McGraw/Faith Hill; $189.9; 2.7.
23. George Strait; $184.7; 3.1
24. The Police; $181.2; 1.7.
25. Neil Diamond; $179.4; 2.7.
26. Barry Manilow; $173.9; 1.7.
27. Bob Dylan; $161.1; 3.4.
28. “American Idols Live”; $156.8; 3.
29. “Ozzfest”; $154.9; 3.4.
30. Rod Stewart; $153.9; 2.1.
31. “Vans Warped Tour”; $152.9; 5.1.
32. Van Halen; $147.8; 1.6.
33. Fleetwood Mac; $146.2; 1.7.
34. Brooks & Dunn; $144.4; 3.8.
35. AC/DC; $144.3; 2.1.
36. Coldplay; $142.9; 2.6.
37. Eric Clapton; $139.3; 1.9.
38. Luis Miguel; $137; 2.1.
39. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; $136; 3.
40. Nickelback; $135.8; 3.3.
41. Dixie Chicks; $134.9; 2.6.
42. Tim McGraw; $133.7; 2.7.
43. Backstreet Boys; $132.4; 2.6.
44. Brad Paisley; $129.7; 3.3.
45. Tina Turner; $127.9; 1.7.
46. Bette Midler; $126; 1.1.
47. Billy Joel; $123.4; 1.4.
48. Barbra Streisand; $119.5; 0.4.
49. Phish; $116.7; 2.6.
50. James Taylor; $116.3; 2.6.