[Editor’s note, 7/13/25]: Sometimes dumb jokes spiral… During a recent spate of notable jam band concerts in Colorado, we saw on social media that the state’s governor, Jared Polis, had posted some photos and videos from the crowd at both the Widespread Panic run at Red Rocks and the Phish run at Folsom Field. The captions of those posts, written in the first person, included some more-than base-level details about the two bands.
“Ha, nice,” we thought, and threw together the sort of post we often write when someone unexpected appears to be interested in the same niche music scene as us (see below). We tossed in a couple of the buzzwords someone might have thrown at us if we told them we were seeing Phish and Widespread Panic in the same week (i.e. heady, wook), published the article, and went about our business.
Days later, Governor Polis shared this article on his various social media. We thought it was pretty funny that the governor of a state had shared an article from our publication about jam bands in which we referred to him as a “wook,” so we asked him a follow-up question on which a wook might have a strong opinion: “What’s your official stance on tarps?”
The Governor Polis Facebook account actually responded: “anti tarp unless you’re using [RockyGrass] policies.” Hah, nice…
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On Friday, in response to our article, long-running Denver publication Westword published a new piece titled “Is Jared Polis Heady? Let’s Discuss” that weighs Polis’ heady cred from different angles alongside a bizarre spread of A.I. photos depicting him engaging in various acts of wookery.
The Westword piece also revealed that Polis himself was not actually at the Phish and Panic shows, but rather had posted photos and videos that his staff had taken at the concerts.
“Governor Polis is flattered to be recognized for his great music taste and gladly welcomes the invitation into the ‘heady’ fan group,” spokesperson Shelby Wieman told Westword. “Governor Polis also loves any opportunity to welcome amazing musical performers to Colorado, bringing fans from across the country to some of the best venues in the nation.” Not going to the shows? We agree, Westword—not very heady at all.
Of course, politics gonna politic, and the comment sections of ours and Polis’ posts about jam band concerts became filled with heated discussions about his actions as the state’s chief executive—and condemnations of our publication for calling him “heady.”
Anyway, fun week. We’ll just be over here writing about music and trying not to get sucked into any more debates about the politics of headiness.
[Originally published 7/4/25]: With last weekend’s three-night Widespread Panic run at Red Rocks still fresh in fans’ memories and this week’s three-show Phish run at Folsom Field in Boulder currently underway, not to mention the long list of surrounding late-nights and other concerts around The Centennial State of late, it’s an exciting time for all live music fans in Colorado—even the state’s governor, Jared Polis.
Last Sunday, June 29th, as Widespread Panic celebrated its 75th consecutive sold-out Red Rocks show, Governor Polis took to his official social media accounts—which typically feature the sort of public messaging you’d expect from a governor’s feed—to post a video of Widespread Panic performing “Ain’t Life Grand” with special guest Chuck Leavell at the famed outdoor venue the night prior. “Never Miss a Sunday Show!!” he wrote in his post. “Congratulations Widespread Panic on your 75th consecutive sold out show at Red Rocks! Every election since I was elected to Congress I have walked out to ‘Ain’t Life Grand’, here is a clip from this weekend.”
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Then, on Thursday night, July 3rd, Colorado’s chief executive was in Boulder to catch the first-ever Phish show at Folsom Field. “Phish!!” he wrote in a post. “Welcome back to Boulder! My hometown is excited to host you for the first time since 1993. Since Telluride 1988, those infamous Red Rock shows, to an epic 13 year run at Dick’s, Colorado loves this band. Be Safe Phans! If you can walk, pedicab or transit home. But whatever you do take care of your shoes.”
The post also included a photo of Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, and Jon Fishman performing on the University of Colorado Boulder football team’s home turf on Thursday evening as well as photos of a server wearing a Phish tie-dye and another guy wearing a (now 10-year-old) “Let Trey Sing” t-shirt from Fare Thee Well.
We hope you’re enjoying your Hot Wook Summer™ raging Phish and Widespread Panic tour in Colorado, Governor Polis. We certainly are.
If you’re in town for Phish in Boulder (or you’re a local fan like the governor), check out a list of the various late-nights and after-parties taking place throughout the weekend here. Phish returns to Folsom Field on Friday, July 4th and Saturday, July 5th to round out the band’s three-show Colorado weekend. Tune in via nightly livestreams from LivePhish here.
