Traveler, Trey Anastasio's forthcoming solo album, will be released on October 16 on Rubber Jungle Records / ATO Records. The first single on the album, "Scabbard," was released yesterday and is available for download at iTunes and Amazon MP3. It's also available as a 7" Vinyl record, pressed on red wax (with a "Pigtail" B-Side).

Traveler, Trey Anastasio's forthcoming solo album, will be released on October 16 on Rubber Jungle Records / ATO Records. Trey co-produced the album with Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Jonsi) last fall in Katis' Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT. Along with Trey Anastasio Band, Katis invited several artists to work with them, including Mates of State's Kori Gardner, The National's Bryan Devendorf and Matt Berninger, and Icelandic percussionist Samuli Kosminen. Album pre-order details will be announced shortly.

This week Phish will release a brand new box set entitled Chicago '94, showcasing two complete shows recorded live on June 18, 1994 and November 25, 1994 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.

Tomorrow and Wednesday (July 3rd and 4th), Phish will play two sold out shows in Wantagh, NY. Both shows will be webcast live at LivePhish.com. The webcasts are available for pre-order now, along with a Jones Beach event t-shirt. The setbreak during this webcast will include a brand-new, two-part feature on Page's touring keyboard setup.Individual shows are available for $14.99 and a two-night pass is available for $25.99.

Every Phish fan has their favorite year of the band's long and storied career, and will argue to the death why they feel that specific year stands as the group's greatest.  For some it's the feisty year of 1993, or the energetic and explosive 1994 tour, and some will even argue that the tight yet loosely woven shows of 2011 rank as their all time high.  But for many, it was without a doubt the body of work heard during 1997.

Trey Anastasio will launch his first-ever orchestral tour on February 9, 2012, performing with the Atlanta Symphony at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. The Trey Anastasio Winter Symphony Tour will also include performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony (2/14), the Colorado Symphony (2/28) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (3/10).

The Bear Creek music festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park was a fun filled sensual delight from the tingling chill of a Friday night freeze, the warmth of the campfire, fuzzy bear costumes all around, campfire smoke whimsically dancing through the air, laser light spectacles such as green naked lady outlines surfing through the trees, and did I mention the music? Destination Funkytown. Houston, we have landed. Bear Creek kept us movn and  groonvn all night long.

These days, it’s hard to define them, isn’t it?  In a musical world full of niche genres and file sharing — everyone’s product may have a better chance of being heard, and that’s great.. But it — as a result of a larger pie of musical choice, gets diluted in value.  I think that’s why the live music experience provides for so many, what the recorded medium cannot.