Phish has made the call to postpone its four-night 2021–2022 New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden, originally scheduled to take place on 12/29, 12/30, 12/31, and 1/1. The decision comes amid a concerning spike in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The Phish MSG shows have been rescheduled to April 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, 2022, including a three-set performance on the third night of the run, 4/22/22, to make up for the forfeited New Year’s Eve performance. The venue’s announcement noted that the April dates are subject to change if they conflict with a potential New York Knicks playoff game.
As the band noted in an announcement,
With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 surging in New York City, we have made the very difficult decision to reschedule next week’s run of shows at Madison Square Garden.
The health and safety of Phish fans, our crew, and venue staff is paramount in our minds. While Phish has played shows this year as the pandemic has continued, this variant’s ability for rapid transmission is unprecedented.
We are also mindful that a significant number of people travel for these shows and then return to their communities, and we want to avoid accelerating transmission of the virus. Finally, even with the strictest of tour Covid protocols, the prolonged exposure of a four-night indoor run (plus the days of preparation and travel) to critical crew and staff considerably increases the possibility of having to shut the shows down once they’ve started.
Ticket-holders can request a refund anytime over the next 30 days, beginning today, if they cannot commit to the rescheduled show date. If a refund is not requested during the allotted time, tickets will be valid for the new show date. If you purchased from an authorized ticket sales channel (Ticketmaster, Phish Tickets, CID or venue website) these ticketing partners will be contacting all buyers shortly with further instructions.
As the band added to close the note to fans on the MSG postponement, “Thank you all for your understanding. Stay healthy and safe, take care of each other out there and please get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already.”
After spending much of 2020 on the sidelines due to the pandemic, Phish managed to squeeze in a busy year on the road in 2021, completing a 22-date summer tour and a 13-date fall tour without running into COVID-imposed postponements or cancellations. The highly contagious Omicron variant, however, has once again thrown the ever-developing COVID-19 picture into question—particularly in New York City.
The last Phish MSG show, on New Year’s Eve 2019, ended with some unexpected tension and excitement when a stalled platform being used as part of the band’s New Year’s gag left Trey Anastasio hanging from the arena’s ceiling. He was eventually retrieved by the “Rescue Squad,” which has since lent its name to a semi-regular string section for Anastasio’s solo shows.
Prior to the April 2022 “New Year’s run” at Madison Square Garden, Phish will head back to Mexico for another edition of the band’s running destination event in Riviera Maya from February 24th–27th, 2022. For more information on Phish tour dates, head to the band’s website here.
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