Phish Festivals - Coventry

Coventry was the seventh of nine weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on August 14 and 15, 2004, at a farm in the small town of Coventry, Vermont. An estimated 65,000-68,000 attended.

Phish was the only band at the event, performing six sets of music over two nights that were, until their 2009 reunion, the band's final live performances. Fans camped on site in tents, creating a community that became the largest city in Vermont over the weekend.

110,000 people were expected to attend. It was simulcast to thousands more in movie theaters across America. The event was also simulcast on XM Satellite Radio. Unfortunately, a week of rain had flooded the concert field to the point where people were turned away, causing gridlock on the highway and roads leading to the site. Rumors circulated that the stage was sinking. The band had made use of a local radio station turning it into "The Bunny" radio with live reports. These reports requested patience from concert goers. However when Phish Bassist Mike Gordon came on the radio, he announced that the field and venue were in a state of disaster and that no more vehicles would be allowed into the venue. Rumor spread up and down the traffic lines that Phish would play another concert, since less than 20,000 fans had made it into the venue.

Instead of turning away and despite warnings from the National Guard, tens of thousands parked their cars on highway medians, in breakdown lanes, and on the sides of roads. Then they hiked in to the concert venue, some walking as far as 30 miles to the venue. Local residents stepped in and began shuttling fans in and out of the site and to their vehicles. Despite efforts by attendees, trash accumulated from fans stuck along the road. The bill for the subsequent cleanup was sent from the State of Vermont to the Phish organization who picked up the bill in its entirety.

The concert included some songs written at Coventry to glorify members of the team (Bruno and Dicky Scotland). The band gave away their trampolines during "You Enjoy Myself". They broke down crying onstage several times, most notably when Page McConnell choked up during the ballad "Wading in the Velvet Sea." Unable to continue singing, he turned the microphone to the audience, who took over in chorus.