Cancel your haircut, quit your job, and load up the van. It’s time for Phish summer tour 2024!
The band is making the rounds doing an NPR Tiny Desk and playing the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this week. Their new album Evolve just dropped and the tour starts in a week.
It’s go time!
We always feel like kids on Christmas Eve as we gear up to hit the road with our favorite band. In one of our favorite traditions here on Grateful Gnomads, here’s our Phish summer tour preview.
Phish Summer Tour 2024
July 19, 20, 21 – Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA
The 26-date Phish summer tour kicks off with a 3-night run in Mansfield, MA. Phish fans are quite familiar with this venue (which will always be known as Great Woods) as the band first played here in the summer of ’92.
This venue has several claims to fame. The “Stash” from A Live One was recorded here. Oh yeah, and they played a full Gamehendge here on 7/8/94.
Great Woods was one of the last stops on their farewell tour in 2004, and we’re all so glad, glad, glad that it wasn’t the end. What’s different this time around is that it’s the first triple threat of shows here. Buckle up!
July 23-24, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
Next is a mid-week jaunt to a casino as the circus heads to Mohegan Sun. Unlike Great Woods, this venue doesn’t have much Phishtory behind it.
Phish has only played here twice on their 2019 tour, although Trey also had a show here with his Goose buddies on Taboose tour in 2022. It may not have the history, but Phish fans sure don’t seem to mind raging in a casino on a Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Once again, it’s a tough ticket in this 10,000-person indoor arena. Set those alerts on CashorTrade, be patient, and don’t let the scalpers win!
July 26, 27, 28 – Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI
Get excited for some cheese, because Phish summer tour rolls into Wisconsin next. This next venue needs no introduction, as it’s a place steeped in the lore of Phish.
Alpine Valley has been a staple on Phish summer tour since the band debuted here in 1996. I’ll never forget making my first trip there in 2004 with a few friends, then again in 2009 with Rachel as a whole crew of us camped on our friend’s parent’s front lawn.
There have been many memorable moments at Alpine, including the legendary Ruby Waves in 2019. They’ve settled into the 3-night run format here, as this will be the 3rd in a row. And when they get comfortable, they usually deliver the goods!
July 30-31, Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO
As a lifelong Red Wings fan, it stings a bit knowing that Phish played here on the same night the Blues won the Stanely Cup in 2019. That being said, it was a pretty awesome moment in the intersection of jam bands and sports.
This will be their first time playing there since then, so we’ll see what tricks they have up their sleeves. Who knows – maybe a Nelly sit-in? There is that one picture of him and Trey…
At this point in the tour, they should be firing on all cylinders but might be showing a bit of road fatigue. I know these shows aren’t on our radar, which means they’ll probably be sleepers. Only time will tell…
August 2, 3, 4 – Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN
I refused to call it Verizon Wireless, Klipsch, or Ruoff Music Center. This is Deer Creek. Talk about the stuff of Phish legends… the Moby Dick show. The lightning storm during Fluffhead. The freaking Simple on my birthday in 2021!
My first Deer Creek run was in the summer of 2003. Back then, this place was surrounded by cornfields and campgrounds. Umphrey’s McGee even played a late night at Dead Creek campground in 1999.
The times sure have changed, as the area around it now bears a striking resemblance to the cookie-cutter neighborhood from Weeds. We know Shakedown will be raging and a bunch of friends will be there, so we’re still showing up to rage.
August 6-7, Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
Speaking of Phish on my birthday, I get to do it again this year in my home state! They haven’t played Grand Rapids since 1998, and the excitement is palpable among the West Michigan fans.
While a mid-week run after a Deer Creek throwdown will be tough, we’re excited for some summer indoor Phish. CK5 magic all night and no concerns about weather-related cancelations!
Phish fans and craft beer go together like spaghetti and meatballs, so this should be a fun run in a town that has a solid claim to Beer City, USA. And if you feel like buying me one for my birthday, well I certainly won’t stop you…
UPDATE: We have found out about some great pre and post-parties with Michigan bands that we’re going to check out. Pajamas are coming up from Ann Arbor to play pre-parties both days at Founders Brewery from 5-7 PM. Their guitarist is a Phish legend and these guys rip! Come check them out and buy me a birthday beer 😉
If you’ve still got some gas in the tank after the shows, fill me a balloon first then come over to Pyramid Scheme to see local heroes Desmond Jones. I’ve been listening to these dudes after finding out about the after-parties and I’m pumped to see them live.
August 9, 10, 11 – Bethel Woods, Bethel, NY
We are stardust, we are golden, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden. Phish is headed back to Woodstock, so dust off that tye-dye and don’t eat the brown acid!
They played a couple of nights here in 2022 but haven’t done a 3-night run since their first visit in 2011. It should have a bit of a festival-before-the-festival vibe, but there probably won’t be a Ferris wheel.
It’s still a 3-day campout in the same area where the most iconic music festival ever happened. This should be a special weekend and will really set the gearshift for the high gear of our collective souls as we head to…
Near the original Woodstock site, there will be a festival vibe here. There’s a lot going on pre and post-show – a Sleeping Monkey lounge, yoga classes, a creativity zone, and live music!
I highly recommend checking out Owsley’s Owls on the 10th and 11th for some live Dead tunes to get you in the groove before Phish! I’m sure all of the other bands are awesome, too. It’s going to be a great weekend!
August 15, 16, 17, 18 – Mondegreen – The Woodlands, Dover, DE
It’s been nine years since Phish held a festival. Magnaball seems like a distant memory, and many of us are still recovering from the C-word festival that never happened in 2018, including yours truly.
I’m hoping the whole “third time’s the charm” thing rings true, as I’m 0-for-2 with Phish fests, my other experience being Coventry. It was a good idea to ditch the “ball” entirely for this one, and instead go with a word that means “a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning.”
This time around, we get four nights and eight sets. There won’t be a day set, but will there be a secret set? We’ll get amazing art installations, a 5k, a farmer’s market, the Bunny, and so many of the other things that are crucial for a Phish fest.
We’re making the trek there and camping in GA with the wooks. Let’s get weird!
August 29, 30, 31, Sept 1 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
You know the drill at this point. Labor Day weekend. A soccer field near a dog food factory. Four nights of Phish. All the heady Colorado wook shit your heart desires.
Phish Dick’s is a tradition that’s now up there with YEMSG for NYE and Vegas for Halloween. The end-of-summer blowout has earned its spot on the Mt. Rushmore of Phish events.
Speaking of iconic Phish events, it makes a Baker’s Dozen this year as the 13th Dick’s run. We’ve been to four of them and while we’re due for another this year, a cheap flight to Poland swayed us to do a big Euro trip this fall instead.
We hope you all have a blast ending Phish summer tour 2024 out at Dick’s. Rage the lot, hit the after-parties, and whatever you do, take care of your shoes…
We Hope You Have a Good Time!
If you made it to the end, thanks for sticking around. We put this thing together out of sheer love for the band and the scene. It’s always a blast hitting Phish summer shows and we love meeting new people.
If you want to keep in touch and see what we’re up to in our digital nomad adventures, please subscribe here. And definitely come say hi if you see us at a show and let’s party down!
We plan to add to this post recommendations for things to do, after-parties, breweries, restaurants, and all that good stuff. If you have any suggestions, please reach out and let us know!
