Phish’s Trey Anastasio made an appearance at the New Yorker Festival in, you guessed it, New York yesterday to give a talk with longtime New Yorker journalist Alec Wilkinson and play some acoustic tunes. Big Red opened up with a rendition of the newer Phish tune “Blaze On” before sitting down to discuss his career at length, touching upon his many influences and collaborations throughout the years. Wilkinson told him that Bob Weir called Anastasio the “glue” that held the Fare Thee Well group together, and that Trey was the “MVP” of the run. Trey enlightened his audience about his preparations for FTW, which apparently included rehearsals with Joe Russo, and a pep talk from Bill Walton. You can watch the whole thing here.

Trey played several acoustic numbers, including a debut of “Cartwheels” off his upcoming solo album Paper Wheels. Check out the setlist and some footage via YouTube user Edward Byrne below.

Setlist: Blaze On, The Line, Joy, Cartwheels, Farmhouse, Backwards Down The Number Line, Sample In A Jar

[Via JamBase / Cover Photo by Chad Smith]