The Statement:
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.
We’re fortunate to have found a four-night window in The Garden’s schedule, and the shows will now take place April 20-23, 2022, including a three-set show (as originally planned for New Year’s Eve) on April 22.
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. Please note: 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.
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.
*** end of statement ***
PiercingMetal Thoughts: Considering that all four dates seemed to have been sold out which means a very jam-packed Madison Square Garden, this news doesn’t surprise me at all. In one of my roles I’ve been doing some work with the audiences on Broadway and many productions have gone dark for a few days or decided to end their performances earlier in the run than was planned. This is a precarious time and according to the daily news briefs, the new Omicron variant is much more contagious and easier to transmit. Yesterday I went to see the mighty Trans-Siberian Orchestra and while I sported a face covering for most of the show, there were numerous faces around me that I saw quite clearly weren’t. To say that this was unnerving to me personally is an understatement but I digress. Please, please, please stay safe out there and enjoy these holidays. I wish you a very “Merry Christmas” if you are celebrating this holiday and look forward to keeping your entertainment needs sated well into the New Year 2022. Folks who wish to chime in down below are welcome to do so but please stick to topic and avoid any soap-boxing since no one has time for that. Ciao.
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