Phish takes a stand and joins 'Blackout Tuesday'
Phish rarely speaks out on anything other than music. When they want to do something political in nature, they tend to do it on their own terms — one member reaches out behind the scenes or they drop subtle hints and let fans find the message.
That changed today. Perhaps because this is more than just politics.
The band is postponing tomorrow night’s Dinner and a Movie stream to join the music industry’s planned blackout — a night of non-action in solidarity with the protesters demanding justice for George Floyd and the countless other black men and women killed by police in the US.
The band tweeted:
Color of Change, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization, will be Waterwheel’s beneficiary for the non-stream. You can donate to them through Waterwheel today.
The significance of the Gorge: That this happened for a show from the Gorge is significant — it’s where two black fans were attacked with rocks by unknown assailants. Police never identified any suspects in those attacks and wouldn’t confirm if the assaults were racist in nature as some suspected, given the reported presence of neo-Nazis on lot. “No bias speech heard or gestures seen during either assault,” was the line at the time.
Oh, and a programming note: The wook+ stream I had planned to join alongside Tom Marshall and Pete Mason was also postponed. We decided that was the right move over the weekend.
Here’s hoping that one gets rescheduled too. I’m big fans of both of those guys.
Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there.