Though Phish and its legions of fans would describe themselves as anything but mainstream, the veteran rock band continues to prove itself as one of the most profitable acts in the concert industry moving through the 2020s. With the levels of success that Phish has experienced over the years, they’ve had the opportunity to play at events like Farm Aid and even share the stage with its founders.

That’s what happened on this day (October 3rd) in 1998 when Phish joined forces with Neil Young for an extended sit-in at Farm Aid which also featured a sit-in on “Moonlight in Vermont” from Willie Nelson and Late Night bandleader Paul Shaffer. After a few original songs, Young made his first appearance with the band after “Runaway Jim” segued into “Arc” in the first set. Phish and Neil Young then played “Down By The River”, before the guest-filled “Moonlight in Vermont” came next. Young stayed on for the remainder of the show, joining Phish on renditions of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?”, “Amazing Grace”, and “Uncloudy Day”. Revisit some of the performances from Farm Aid 1998 below.

Phish – “Runaway Jim” – 10/3/98

Phish feat. Neil Young – “Arc” – 10/3/98

Phish feat. Neil Young – “Down By the River” – 10/3/98

Phish feat. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Paul Schaffer – “Moonlight in Vermont” – 10/3/98

Phish feat. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Paul Schaffer – “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”, “Amazing Grace”, “Uncloudy Day” – 10/3/98

Trey would later recount the experience in vivid detail at a 2019 solo acoustic show at Ryman Auditorium.

Last story, this is a good one… Lessons we learned from our elders [laughs]. So there’s a picture of Willie [Nelson] backstage on the wall… He’s been here a million times. And I remember when we played at Farm Aid… So this is the music lesson that I learned from Willie and Neil Young that day. So, we’re playing at Farm Aid, and Willie first invited me on his bus [laughs]. This is how this whole thing started. So we go on Willie’s bus, and he’s just [mimes smoking a joint]. So it begins just completely obliterated with Willie on his bus, which is cool enough. He’s like, “Are we gonna play a song or something?” I said, “How about ‘Moonlight In Vermont’, since we’re from Vermont.” And he says, “OK, we’re gonna do ‘Moonlight In Vermont’.” So then, you know, I’m like, crippled [laughs], trying to get off the bus, trying to find the door. … OK, “Moonlight In Vermont”, I gotta learn this song, learn the chords…

And then, right next to his bus is Neil Young’s bus. So I go on Neil Young’s bus, and he’s on there, and Woody Harrelson is on the bus. So there I get high on Neil’s bus [laughs], so now I’m getting more crippled. … So then he’s like, “You wanna play a song?” And I’m like, “Yea, ‘Powderfinger’.” So we practice it, and we get it, and it’s, like, good. Now it’s like, alright, I gotta get off that bus, gotta find the door. Holy sh*t, we’re gonna play… Excuse my language in church [laughs]. I don’t think any of these guys would mind.

So we practiced it, it’s ready, we’ve got the two songs ready, right? All I’ve gotta do is, like, keep myself together. I start walking off the bus, and just as I’m walking off, Neil says, “You know, I don’t like to… I’m not that good at plannin’ stuff.” Whatever that means. I’m like, okay, cool. ‘Cus, like, I’m not really either [laughs]. So he’s gonna do his solo acoustic set right before ours. So it’s like, I walk off the bus, he’s gonna walk on, and then we’re gonna go on and do “Powderfinger”. So he walks out with his acoustic guitar and… he starts playing “Powderfinger”! Like, in his set! I’m kinda like [exasperated], well, hey! OK, whatever. He’s not coming on, that’s my message, forget the whole thing, right?

So we go on, we just start playing, we get into this jam, and we sort of veer off into this, like, ‘la la’ jam, and I gave up on the Neil Young thing ‘cus he already played the song, so we’re not gonna do that. And I hear this sound behind me, and it’s my guitar, I know how that sounds. I’m trying to figure out where it’s coming from and all that sh*t. And then, like, I turn around, and Neil had heard this jam and was kinda really into it and was like, ‘wow, that’s a cool jam,’ [and] he just walked out onstage behind me and picked up my spare guitar and plugged it into the amp and just started rocking out on whatever we were doing [laughs]. And I think we went into “Down By The River” or something, we just made something up. And the final part of the story is, everybody’s standing over at the side, and he started kinda getting mad because this was going on for a long time [laughs]. We were supposed to stop. This is, like, a TV show, you know?

“Anyway, what did I learn from that?” Trey concluded. “Never plan anything.”

Watch this amusing Ryman edition of “Storytime with Trey” below:

Trey Anastasio – Hank Williams/ Willie Nelson/Neil Young Story – Ryman Auditorium – 10/27/19
[Video: the5conks]

Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Farm Aid | Tinley Park, IL | 10/3/98

SET 1: Birds of a Feather, Farmhouse, The Moma Dance, Runaway Jim -> Arc[1] -> Down By the River[1], Moonlight in Vermont[2], Will the Circle Be Unbroken?[3] > Amazing Grace[4] > Uncloudy Day[1]

[1] Phish debut; Neil Young on guitar
[2] Phish debut; Neil Young and Willie Nelson on guitar and Paul Schaffer on keyboards
[3] With Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and Paul Schaffer
[4] with Neil Young

This single set performance was part of the annual Farm Aid benefit concert which also included Hootie and the Blowfish, The Del McCoury Band, Brian Wilson, Wilco, Martina McBride, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young. The set featured the Phish debuts of Arc, Down By the River, Moonlight in Vermont, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, and Uncloudy Day (although Will the Circle Be Unbroken was also played during the November 19, 1994 “Parking Lot Jam”). Neil Young sat in from Runaway Jim through the end of the set; Willie Nelson and Paul Shaffer sat in during Moonlight in Vermont. Four Native American dancers came onstage before Will the Circle Be Unbroken. Circle featured Willie Nelson on vocals. Amazing Grace was performed for the first time since December 31, 1996 (115 shows) and included instrumental accompaniment. This set was broadcast live on Country Music Television, though the beginning of Runaway Jim was cut from the broadcast.

[Originally published 10/3/16]