Phish Phacts

As the days get closer to Phish’s first festival in five years, a few particulars have emerged, like set times as well as news of the band’s first full-length acoustic set. … ever!

Not only is Festival 8 the band’s first festival in half a decade, it’s also the first time Phish has brought its festival fun to the West Coast. Scheduled for Oct. 30 through Nov. 1 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., the event is wall-to-wall Phish from start to finish.

Photo: Rod Tanaka / TanakaPhoto.net
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colo.

If the name “Empire Polo Club” isn’t jogging the memory, it’s the same site where the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals are held.

For the uninitiated, Phish festivals feature nothing but Phish playing multiple sets every day. The band started its festival shows in the summer of 1996 with The Clifford Ball, which ran two days at a former airforce base near Plattsburgh, N.Y., and attracted approximately 70,000 fans. Other legendary Phish festivals of days past include The Great Went (1997), Lemonwheel (1998), Camp Oswego (1999), Big Cypress (1999) and It (2003). The last festival for the band was Coventry which took place during the summer of 2004 near Coventry, Vt.

In addition to Festival 8 being Phish’s first West Coast festival, the event will also include the band’s first-ever concert-length acoustic set.

Festival 8 will also be the first time Phish has combined its Halloween tradition of playing a famous album by another band with its own festival concept. While the band hasn’t announced whose album they’ll play at Festival 8, past Halloween choices include The Beatles (White Album), The Who’s Quadrophenia and the Velvet Underground’s Loaded.

Photo: AP Photo
Front of tens of thousands of fans who managed to get past the mud, rain and traffic lines.

Here’s how the Festival 8 schedule is looking so far:

Friday, Oct. 30
4:00 p.m. Concert field open.
7:30 p.m. Phish performs first set.
10:00 p.m. Phish performs second set.

Saturday, Oct. 30
12:00 p.m. Concert field opens.
3:00 p.m. Phish performs first set.
7:30 p.m. Phish performs the Halloween set.
10:00 p.m. Phish performs the third set.

Photo: Bart Stephens
Phish improvises at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.

Sunday, Nov. 1
10:00 a.m. Concert field opens.
12:00 p.m. Phish performs its first-ever full-length acoustic set.
5:30 p.m. Phish performs second set.
8:30 p.m. Phish performs third set.

For more information, please click here for the Phish website.

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