Mike Gordon Selects Rachel Eckroth To Fill In For Robert Walter On Summer Tour

Phish bassist Mike Gordon will bring his five-piece solo band on the road this summer with one new face in the lineup. The group’s regular keyboardist, Robert Walter, is currently on tour with Roger Waters, so Gordon tapped keyboardist Rachel Eckroth to fill the role for the trek.

Phoenix native Rachel Eckroth is a singer-songwriter, vocalist and keyboardist who has put out multiple critically-acclaimed albums of her own. Eckroth also toured with Rufus Wainwright, St. Vincent, KT Tunstall and Chris Botti. Her 2021 album, The Garden, was nominated for a Grammy award.

Mike Gordon revealed Eckroth will join the tour during a recent appearance on Cory Wong‘s Wong Notes podcast. “Rachel is incredible and the first thing I said to her is ‘what some songs of yours that we can do,'” Gordon explained in discussing the importance of involving his bandmates in the group’s creative process. He hinted that one of the songs she selected was a tune Cory Wong recorded with Eckroth.

The bassist also discussed his upcoming new solo album, Flying Games, the week he spent rehearsing with Dead & Company before he passed on the gig and much more with Cory Wong. Additionally, Gordon told Wong he’s was doing an “neurological experiment for a gadget I’ve been planning on making for 25 years and it’s going to involve a notable person” while on Phish’s recently completed spring tour. It turns out that “notable person” was Bob Weir as both Gordon and Weir shared photos from a session held at the Grateful Dead guitarist’s TRI Studios facility on April 16.

Listen to Mike Gordon’s appearance on Wong Notes below:

Mike Gordon kicks off his solo tour with a concert at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine on June 15. The trek continues through a home-state show at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont on July 2 and includes both festival appearances and headlining gigs. Scroll below for a full list of dates.

[Hat Tip – Jambands.com]