2025 Summer Tour Review

·1 hr 29 min·5 clips

A fan asks if Phish's 25-minute jams this summer are just 'run of the mill' compared to last year's inspired explorations.

The episode begins with hosts Brian, Megan, and RJ taking listener voicemails and chat questions, setting up a central debate about the quality and innovation of Phish's jamming in the 2025 Summer Tour compared to the previous year. A caller from Colorado Springs questions if the many 25+ minute jams are exploring 'new ground,' prompting the hosts to note they'll address this in a 'nerd section' later. The hosts discuss their personal criteria for evaluating shows, balancing jam quality, setlist construction, and rarity 'bust outs.' They then debate the 'defining show of the tour,' with Brian citing 7/15 and 7/27, Megan pointing to Manchester Night Three and SPAC Night Three, and RJ highlighting 7/9 Columbus for its consistent flow and jams. A segment on 'the sound of 2025 Phish' follows, where the hosts contrast 2024's deconstructed, atmospheric jams with 2025's more melodic, groove-based, and patiently built jams, noting increased contributions from Mike and Page. The hosts share personal favorite jams they can't stop listening to, like RJ's pick of a specific riff in Chicago's 'What's Going Through My Mind' and Megan's advocacy for the SPAC 'Life Saving Gun.' They discuss favorite sets, with high praise for SPAC 7/25 Set Two. The 'nerd deep dive' section features Megan's analysis of show ratings and average song 'gap' correlations, and Brian's statistical breakdown of 20+ and 25+ minute jams by tour and year, showing 2025 is historically prolific. The hosts speculate on the band's future, the impact of Trey's Languedoc guitar, and where the 2025 tour might rank in a hypothetical 'Top 25 Tours' list, with guesses around #18-20. The episode concludes with expectations for the upcoming fall tour and announcements for future podcast episodes, including Mount Rushmore segments on songs like 'AC/DC Bag.'

As heard by us

A lived-in tour conversation places the band's current run in rare historical company.

The Helping Friendly Podcast frames a tour-review chat as a question of historical weight, setting the band's present form against 2023, 2024, and spring 1993.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a fan-panel case for why this year's run feels right there with 2024 and stronger than 2023.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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