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Photos: Phish Kicks Off Four-Day Run at Dick's Sporting Goods Park

The legendary jam band is back for its traditional Labor Day run.
Image: Trey Anastasio on stage
Trey Anastasio on stage on night one. Ross Jones (@rossjonz)

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Phish is back at Dick's Sporting Goods Park for what's become a Labor Day weekend tradition. On August 29, the first date in a four-day run, loyal jam-band fans set up shop in the parking lot in the early afternoon and then lined the rail as soon as the doors opened.

Phish treated them to a set of classics, opening with a Talking Heads cover of "Cities" and ending the second set with fan favorite "Harry Hood."

Dick's is Phish's second-most-played venue behind Madison Square Garden. Photographer Ross Jones was there for night one. See his photos below:
click to enlarge Phish on stage
Phish formed in Vermont in 1983.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Trey Anastasio playing guitar
The band's first-ever performance was under the name The Blackwood Convention.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Trey Anastasio playing guitar
Trey Anastasio plays a custom guitar made by Paul Languedoc.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Mike Gordon playing bass
Mike Gordon was also the band's de facto manager, doing its PR and booking before the band became too big.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Page McConnell playing the keyboards
Page McConnell's father helped invent Tylenol and the MRI!
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Trey Anastasio playing guitar
Phish created the Waterwheel Foundation in 1997 to raise money in communities along the tour.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Trey Anastasio singing and playing guitar
Phish believes in the Malcolm Gladwell rule of 10,000 hours — so the musicians practiced relentlessly when starting out.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Mike Gordon playing the bass
Phish is known for its stage antics, including jumping on trampolines, choreographed dances and elaborate Halloween and New Year's pranks.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Phish on stage
Phish has three different songs that reference the slicing of a nipple.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Phish on stage
Lighting designer Chris Kuroda is known as the fifth member of Phish for his ability to improvise with the band.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Trey Anastasio singing and playing guitar
Trey Anastasio opened an addiction recovery center called Divided Sky in 2023.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)

click to enlarge Trey Anastasio walking on stage
Trey Anastasio is regarded as one of the world's top guitar players in and out of the jam-band scene.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Man juggling in a parking lot
Phish fans set up a Shakedown Street before shows, furthering the comparison with Deadheads.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Phish fan wearing lobster claws
Phish fans are known for their own antics, elaborate costumes and wild dancing.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Phish fans waiting on the band
Phish's dedicated fans travel thousands of miles to keep up with the band, and often draw comparisons to Deadheads.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Phish fan talking to friends
Phish fans often throw handfuls of glow sticks into the crowd.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)
click to enlarge Phish fans reading a magazine
Surrender to the Flow is a fan-run magazine for Phish fans that gets distributed in the parking lot.
Ross Jones (@rossjonz)