On Sunday night, Trey Anastasio Band put on a memorable set to close out Vermont’s Grand Point North Music Festival, the annual event on the Burlington waterfront. Although the festival is curated and usually headlined by Grace Potter, she ceded the final set to Trey, who made the most of his rare performance in Phish‘s city of origin with a slew of familiar faces joining him and his solo outfit.

The band delivered a set full of tried-and-true live TAB favorites including “Money, Love & Change,” “Sand,” “Burlap Sack & Pumps,” and “Cayman Review,” and more recent tunes like “Dark & Down,” “Shine,” and “Everything’s Right,” which got heavy play in both the TAB and Phish rotation this past summer.

In addition, TAB issued a rendition of Page McConnell-penned Phish jazz ditty, “Magilla.” As if the instrumental somehow summoned its creator, McConnell himself emerged to lend his chops to a set-closing “First Tube.” Page and Ray Paczkowski both avail themselves impressively, adding extra sonic girth to a tune with which they are both intimately familiar, considering its prevalence in both the Phish and TAB live repertoires. The McConnell guest appearance marked his first in a Trey solo show since November 8, 2005 in New York City, when he simultaneously played keys with then-member Les Hall and fellow guest John Medeski, also on “First Tube.”

With a Phish-y sit-in already accomplished, the crowd was unaware what surprises the band had in store for the encore–the last gasp of music from a weekend filled with skilled performances and talented artists. What would Trey do next?

When Anastasio walked back onstage, he did so with a different–though excitingly familiar–group of musicians: Grace Potter and one more Phish bandmate, bassist Mike Gordon. The sit-in came as a surprise to many: Mike hadn’t sat in on one of Trey’s sets since his solo performance at 2008’s Rothbury, when Phish was still “broken up,” and despite the fact that they were featured on more than one of the same festival lineups this past summer, the two had not joined forces onstage at any of them. However, those paying attention on social media may not have been so shocked, as Gordon specifically referenced the possibility of a Burlington sit-in this week. In a Facebook Q&A ahead of Friday’s release of his own new solo album OGOGO, Gordon addressed the lack of solo band collabs this summer:

The Internet: Loved seeing you at High Sierra this year! Did you & Trey decide to not be a “guest” during each others’ sets on purpose??? Also, do you prefer indoor venues or festivals??

Mike Gordon: Trey and I were there on different days, and giving each space, but we did talk, and this weekend we’ll both be in the same town, so you never know!

Anastasio, Gordon, and Potter, began the show’s encore with a trio performance of Phish’s “Water In The Sky.” From there, Trey had one more trick up his sleeve, as he welcomed saxophonist Dave Grippo, a founding member of TAB and a member of Phish’s storied Giant Country Horns, who toured with the quartet back in 1991. Grippo added extra brass texture to “Push On ‘Til The Day” to send the Vermont crowd home with smiles on their faces.

Watch fan-shot footage of Trey Anastasio with Grace Potter and Mike Gordon at Grand Point North in Burlington, VT below via YouTube user gayanastasio:


Next up for Trey is a run of dates with various symphony orchestras later this month, beginning with a performance with the Nashville Symphony at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN. For more information on his upcoming symphony dates, head to his website.

[h/t – JamBase]

[Cover photo via Instagram user @thirdstoneimages]