The “Save the Date” teases are over, folks! Phish just updated their home page with the final animation showing a map getting planted in California, which then reveals the banner you see above and full details on the first Phish festival since their “final” shows at Coventry and the first time that the Halloween costume idea is getting mixed with the standard Phish festival experience. In a word, UN-BELIEVABLE. Yep, I said it.
Some key pieces of info to take away from the announcement:
- Festival 8 = 8 sets total
- Musical costume concept is confirmed; let the guessing begin
- Hotels are unnecessary; on-site camping, numerous attractions and art installations are going to be a major part of this festival, not to mention the likely-to-happen secret set(s)
- Did we mention it’s in California, which is like, where I live? Just making sure I made that part clear.
Read on for the full announcement from the band and make sure you head over to the official Festival 8 site and read the FAQ’s right away. Lots of LOLs and ROFLs are in your future.
ANNOUNCING PHISH: FESTIVAL 8
We’re thrilled to announce Festival 8, a three-day Phish festival which will take place on October 30th, 31st and November 1st at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. With lush green fields and palm trees, and surrounded by vistas of California’s majestic Santa Rosa mountains, the festival site is simply breathtaking. And for the first time ever, Phish will combine two of its most cherished traditions – a multi-day camping festival and performing on Halloween – in a glorious three-day celebration.
Keeping the tradition of past Halloween shows, Phish will don a musical costume on Halloween night and cover another band’s album. The tradition began on Halloween 1994 with Phish covering The Beatles’ The White Album. In subsequent years, they covered The Who’s Quadrophenia, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light and the Velvet Underground’s Loaded.
The band will play eight sets over the course of three days, and as with all past Phish festivals, fans will enjoy on-site camping, numerous attractions and art installations throughout the weekend.
Tickets for Festival 8 will go on sale Monday, July 27th at 10AM Pacific Time for $199 + $1 WaterWheel Donation (plus applicable service fees) via http://places.musictoday.com/festival8/. This includes entry for all 3 days into the event area. All vehicles entering the Car Camping area must also purchase a $15 Vehicle Pass. Limited Car Camping is available. Gates will open for the event at NOON on Thursday, October 29th. Capacity is limited, so advance ticket purchase and carpooling is strongly encouraged.
We’ve created an official Festival 8 website at phish.com/festival8, where you can find exhaustingly detailed information about the event. We’ve posted the first wave of information about the festival and plan to update it regularly as more details are confirmed. Complete information, including a listing of different travel packages, is available at now at http://www.phish.com/festival8.
