Watkins Glen Prez Says No Phish Fest, Yet

When asked if he was hesitant to publish the article, Stergion responded “we publish stories based on good information from good sources. We take a look at the circumstances of the information and decide whether or not it’s credible. In this case we believe this will happen so we published it.” As for the rumors the Dave Matthews Band would be tied to the festival, Stergion claimed “we never heard DMB mentioned by anyone in person or any sources from within Watkins Glen. We’re confident that Watkins Glen will be a Phish-only festival.” It turns out this event has been long in the making according to Pete, “WGI actually sent people out to Phish shows in 2010 to get an idea of what kind of crowd they can expect & to take  notes for how security was handled at Phish shows.”

The dates laid out in the Bands That Jam article for the potential Watkins Glen Phish Festival were June 30th to July 3rd. Stergion clarified BTJ’s initial report that the event would be Phish’s first four-day festival, “it’s still going to be a four-day festival because there will be camping on Thursday night even though there will only be music for three days. So yes we think it will be four days.”

An Upstate New York resident himself and a longtime Phish fan, Stergion thinks Watkins Glens would make a fine location for a festival, “I can’t think of a better place to have a festival than upstate NY in the summer time. We have the most beautiful summer days and cool summer nights. The Finger Lakes region is simply breathtaking with endless lakes, gorges and wine trails. Watkins Glen has a proven track record of being able to handle large crowds so I think it would be professionally handled.” Let’s hope for Pete’s sake everything goes as planned as he would be in attendance, “I’ve already made arrangements and canceled our regularly scheduled 4th of July family vacation  much to the chagrin of my wife.”

Bands That Jam debuted in 2007 based on Stergion’s idea that “people don’t really read reviews – they want to see photos, a setlist and listen to audio from the shows. We decided to focus on this aspect of our coverage.” Pete added, “I was inspired by all the great bands that where coming to play Thursday At The Square in my home town [Buffalo] so I decided to start a music blog where I would take pictures and give fans links to download the shows off of the Live Music Archive.”

If the last two years are to be a guide, an announcement of Phish’s summer plans isn’t too far off. The band announced the first leg of its 2009 tour on January 8th and the second leg on March 17th. Phish Summer Tour 2010 was announced on March 14th last year. Once again, no Phish concert is confirmed until it is listed on Phish.com.

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8 Responses

  1. for Pete’s sake is right.

    pete is spot on here w/ http://www.bandsthatjam.com / As a current writer for Pete and his site, i can vouch for his validity.

    Despite alleged contract agreements, phans still have to wait for permit and SEQR (“seeker” from NYS DEC)to be approved. I will be @ the local county meetings to speak in favor of the festival.

    60k max tix for this phish only fest.

    8 total sets over 3 days.

    35+/- days til’ phish.org “ophicially” announces it.

    Planning ‘The Glen’ July 4th plans now = priceless.

  2. i grew up 10 minutes from watkins glen….i have friends who work in gov’t there and this is going to happen.

  3. itaca is gorgous!!! that entire area is beautiful. Im from the Adirondacks in NY and been hearing this rumor for a long time

  4. It’ll happen, keep the phaith.

    Don’t festivals of this sort usually have private independent security on the grounds. If you don’t do anything wrong you have reason to worry about the police.

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