Trey Anastasio Announces Eight-Week Virtual Beacon Theatre Residency

Angela Cranford – Beacon of Hope
Trey Anastasio will quick off an eight-week residency at New York’s Beacon Theatre on Oct. 9.

Live from New York, it’s… Trey Anastasio!

The beloved Phish frontman announced “The Beacon Jams” on Thursday, an eight-week virtual residency that will stream via Twitch from Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre every Friday from October 9 to November 27.

“When we thought about playing the Beacon, I was reminded of the meaning of the word,” Anastasio said in a statement. “A beacon is a beam of light, often from a lighthouse, which sends it out to sailors who are lost at sea and all alone. They look for the beacon and it guides them home.”

The free shows are being presented in conjunction with MSG Entertainment and will encourage donations to Phish’s longtime non-profit, the WaterWheel Foundation, as well as its new Divided Sky Fund. Merchandise proceeds will directly benefit DSF, which is committed to delivering care and treatment for those suffering from addiction.

“We’re thrilled to be able to partner with Trey on this very special and first-ever virtual residency at the Beacon Theatre to benefit two immensely important causes – the Divided Sky Fund and the WaterWheel Foundation,” said MSG Entertainment executive vice president Darren Pfeffer in a statement. “As we navigate the live music scene through this socially distant world, we couldn’t think of a more natural way to bring live music to so many fans for such a great cause. Trey’s connection not only with the Beacon Theatre, but with all our venues over the years, including Madison Square Garden, The Chicago Theatre, and Radio City Music Hall, have made this unique concept a perfect partnership.”

Anastasio’s highlights at the Beacon include a sold-out two-night December 2014 stand, where he moved 5,540 tickets and grossed $223,320, and another sold-out show in October 2012, where he moved 2,788 tickets and grossed $115,846.

“We could not be more excited to be part of this amazing partnership with Trey Anastasio and MSG Entertainment to help raise donations for such worthy causes,” said Will Farrell-Green, Head of Music Content at Twitch. “Twitch offers the same intimate experience that artists and their audiences have come to expect from live shows. Over the course of this virtual residency, fans of Trey and Phish will be able to attend performances from anywhere in the world, while feeling like they are right in the front row of the Beacon.”

Anastasio has kept busy in quarantine, releasing a solo album and a live album under his own name, as well as Sigma Oasis, Phish’s 15th studio album. Phish has also streamed archival concerts weekly via its “Dinner And A Movie” series.

Phish last performed at its annual Madison Square Garden New Year’s residency, selling 76,079 tickets and grossing $6.71 million across four shows to close 2019. In January, Anastasio hit the road with Trey Anastasio Band, highlighted by a two-night stand at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., that sold 3,900 tickets and grossed $281,286; in February, he reunited with Primus’ Les Claypool and the Police’s Stewart Copeland for the first Oysterhead shows in more than a decade.

“The Beacon Jams” will be presented in conjunction with Relix. For more information about the shows, which air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET, visit Anastasio’s Twitch profile.