Phish Serve Up Cream Theme on New Year’s Eve, Widespread Panic End the Year with Billy Strings
Gov't Mule's Tribute to 1971
Relix Daily
January 02, 2026
January 2, 2026
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Phish took the stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night to ring in 2026 with a grand finale to their New Year’s Eve residency. The groundbreaking jamband’s year-end series is unquestionably among their most beloved traditions, and the 18th annual run sustained a reputation for unpredictable and rewarding performances with three packed sets, with a twist. The group’s highly anticipated thematic gag to cap off the year was an electrifyingly nonsensical tribute to dairy, precipitated by a sweet second-set segue from “It’s Ice” to “Cream.”
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Yesterday, Widespread Panic turned in the final installment of their New Year’s run at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. After stepping out with surprise guest Billy Strings on night one and returning on Tuesday with another round of sit-ins, it seemed customary that the bluegrass golden boy would take the stage during the host band’s final appearance and build on the foundation he had laid during the previous live engagements, expanding his stage time and assisting on third set covers and bust-outs that paid homage to artists we lost this year–Jimmy Cliff and Ozzy Osbourne.
The November 2004 Relix issue features our Phish cover story and much more. Read Jack Chester's interview with lyricist Tom Marshall. Meditate on Phish and death with Richard Gehr. Dig David Fricke's review of Farmhouse. Read about festivals, phans, men who stepped into yesterday, and tapes that were white.
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Gov’t Mule rang in 2026 this week with the return of their annual New Year’s Eve staging. Continuing a tradition that dates back to 2002, the Warren Haynes-fronted Southern rock powerhouse touched down at New York’s storied Beacon Theatre for two shows on Dec. 30 and 31, which celebrated another triumphant year of touring with a litany of surprises. Their run culminated in a reverent tribute to the music of 1971, presented through debut covers, special guests and historic instruments.
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New Year’s Eve has long been a highlight of Les Claypool’s live calendar, and to cap an eventful year in Primus’ history, the storied bassist’s tight trio with guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde and drummer John Hoffman delivered two properly chaotic hometown shows. On Dec. 30 and 31, the alt-metal forefathers returned to Oakland, Calif.’s Fox Theatre, just down the coast from their original El Sobrante stomping grounds, and rang in 2026 by sending in the clowns.
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Umphrey’s McGee celebrated the end of the year by putting on two live engagements at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. The first of which took place on Tuesday, Dec. 30, consisting of three sprawling sets, packed with acoustic moments, teases, special guest Jim Loughlin appearing at times, and a debut of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s 1969 love-tinged classic “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” During the band’s follow-up, they brought out Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret horns, Michael “Mad Dog” Mavridoglou on trumpet, and Jeff Coffin on saxophone. They provided their Peach State audience with three debut covers and a notable bust-out.
FEATURE
“I never in my life thought I would end up doing this and certainly not for this long,” Jeff Tamarkin says of a career that began with a review he filed for the San Francisco State University student newspaper of The Band’s Last Waltz concert in November 1976. He has been working for music publications ever since, including a stint as Relix’s editor-in-chief from 1978-80, followed by runs at Goldmine, Jazz Times, Global Rhythm and other outlets. Tamarkin also wrote the definitive history of Jefferson Airplane, 2003’s Got A Revolution!
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The Disco Biscuits marked another lap around the sun this week. For the first time in their extended history, the Philadelphia natives hosted a Boston New Year’s Eve, taking Beantown by storm with live appearances on Dec. 30 at the Royale and Dec. 31 at Roadrunner. Over the course of their 2025 finale, the band mapped their setlist with a plethora of intentional moves, packing in specialty moments ranging from debuts to Tractorbeam remixes that adorned the night.
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On Dec. 31, Dark Star Orchestra arrived at The Capitol Theatre for the first of three concerts scheduled to take place at the Port Chester, N.Y. venue. Wednesday’s concert trailed previous stops on their holiday run, including the State Theatre in Portland, Maine (Dec. 29) and Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia (Dec. 30), which wheeled in the return of Rob Eaten, who had previously taken time away from the stage because of health concerns. During the band’s official NYE performance, they revived the Grateful Dead’s two-set concert, which occurred on Dec. 21, 1972, at the Winterland in San Francisco.