Phish guitarist and Jedi Knight Trey Anastasio turns 51 years old today. An icon for many a jam band fan, “Big Red” has been slaying crowds since the early 80s with his undeniable chops, imaginative story-telling, and an indulgence for improvisation that has produced too many sparkling memories to count.

Like a fine wine, Anastasio seems to only be getting better with age. Anastasio’s 50th year on this earth produced some of his greatest feats to date, propelling Phish into a new stratosphere. Take a look back at Anastasio’s year in review:

Just The Jams From Phish’s Magnaball Festival

Halloween’s Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House

Breaking from tradition (again) at last year’s Halloween run in Las Vegas, Phish decided to don Disney’s 1964 album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House as their Musical Costume, bringing to life a record full of mere sound bites. The band masterfully crafted an entire set of new music and an entire crop of new jams out of thin air practically. Not to mention they dressed up the stage as a graveyard complete with zombies and ghouls. What other band would or could possibly do this? Answer: none. This is one of the foremost landmarks of the Phish 3.0 era.

2014-2015 New Year’s Run In Miami

No year is complete without a Phish New Year’s run, and last year the Vermont Four returned to Miami, FL for the first time since 2009 to ring it in. They did not disappoint, delighting phans with a three-night run that incorporated some of the new material from Halloween, including a “Martian Monster” second set closer on 12/31 and a version of “The Dogs” that emerged out of “Auld Lang Syne.” Check out all of set three from New Years Eve, which included a hilarious “Suck to Blow” sketch with drummer Jon Fishman to kick off some excellent jamming.

Phish’s New Archival Release To Feature Bluegrass Tunes, 30-Minute ‘Funky Bitch’

The Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well Shows

When Anastasio was tapped by the Core Four of the Grateful Dead in early 2015 to assume the Jerry Garcia lead guitar role for a run of shows in Santa Clara, CA and Chicago, IL, there were many different schools of thought as to how Anatasio would live up to the challenge. Come the end of the run, there were no doubters. Anastasio proved them wrong, displaying a great deal of musicianship and respect to the legacy of Garcia and the Dead. Never overpowering the jam, Anastasio allowed the music to play him through these five shows, cementing his spot as one the generation’s all-time greats. Check out Red playing this classic combo of the Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire On The Mountain” from Fare Thee Well in Chicago:

2015 Summer Tour

What else can be said about Phish’s 2015 summer tour other than “Wow!?” Beginning their assault on the West coast with stops at venues like the Shoreline Amphitheatre and The Forum, the band made their way into pockets of the South, playing two nights in Texas and a handful of dates in the heart of Dixie before turning northward to the Midwest and then to their home base in the Northeast, putting on their 10th festival, Magnaball, and finally wrapping up the tour with their annual Dick’s run in Colorado. The jams were magnificent, the energy palpable, and the antics reminiscent of old times. A tour like this reminds you why you listen and follow this band on a night-to-night basis. You simply never know what you’re going to get. And that’s half the fun. Check out this epic version of “Tweezer” > “Prince Caspian” from Magnaball:

Trey Anastasio And The Dude of Life Are Working On New Music

A New Album & Fall Tour With TAB

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Anastasio over the course of his career, it’s that he likes to stay busy. Whether it be playing with the Trey Anastasio Band, his run of shows with different American symphonies from a few years ago, or the writing of musical to be performed on Broadway, Anastasio is a fiend for work. And that’s how we like it! Big Red has a new album out this October 30th, Paper Wheels, featuring new material that was played with TAB last fall/winter. Check out “The Song”, a track from Paper Wheels that was released earlier this month.

There you have it, easily one of the most prolific 50th years ever. Between learning Grateful Dead material and writing new Phish and Trey Anastasio Band songs, the guitarist never fails to press musical boundaries.

Anastasio already looks to have a busy 51st, with a TAB tour that features stops at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, a Halloween run at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, and more, not to mention four Phish shows at Madison Square Garden to celebrate New Years Eve and the band’s first-ever trip to Mexico. No matter where you look, you’ll be seeing Big Red!