On Friday, August 26, LOCKN’ patrons are in for a rare musical treat when Ween performs immediately before Phish. The saga starts Thursday, August 25, with fans hailing the great and powerful Boognish to end Thursday night. Festival co-founder, Peter Shapiro, recently told Rolling Stone that “Phish has headlined their own festivals many times, but they have rarely played festivals with other bands performing, so this is going to be a big moment for their fans. To get to see Ween play before Phish is the kind of unique musical moment that we created LOCKN’ for.” Here’s why having Phish and Ween at the same festival is such a big deal.

“Take a piece of tinsel and put it on the tree”

Phish debuted their cover of Ween’s “Roses Are Free” on December 11, 1997 in Rochester, New York. They wasted no time utilizing the song as an improvisational staple at live shows. Check out the performance from Bittersweet Motel, which includes snippets of the song’s pre-show backstage run-through.

“We’re all in this together”

Mickey Melchiondo (a.k.a. Dean Ween), has even gone on the record acknowledging the significance of Phish’s “Roses Are Free” cover. Melchiondo said in an interview with Jambase.com, “Phish, by covering (Roses Are Free), made it one of our popular and most crowd pleasing tunes. For that we owe Trey forever because it opened up so many people’s ears to the music of Ween and introduced us to a whole new audience within the jamband scene, which never would have happened otherwise.”

 

Be sure to read the full “Roses Are Free” song history for much more on the Ween classic at phish.net. Phish.net song histories are constantly updated, so check out their lists and read about your favorite Phish songs in anticipation of this year’s LOCKN’ here: http://phish.net/song/roses-are-free/history

“It’s the message I’m conveyin’ to ya”

During Phish’s tour stop last year at Blossom Music Center in Ohio, Trey Anastasio made a plea to both Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) and Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman to reunite Ween. Whether Anastasio actually had anything to do with Ween’s decision to reunite after their 2012 breakup remains a mystery.

“I’m so glad I’ve got you back into my life”

Both Ween and Phish have gone on hiatus, and it’s a privilege and an honor to see them performing today. With that being said, that’s one of the many reasons why we’re so grateful to have these two iconic bands back together and doing what they do best, making music! Don’t miss your chance to be a part of music history with Phish and Ween at this year’s LOCKN’ Festival. Get your tickets today!