Trey Anastasio Performs Solo Acoustic Set At 2008 Newport Folk Festival: Pro-Shot Full Show Video

In August 2008, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio performed at the Newport Folk Festival. This week, Anastasio confirmed his return to Fort Adams State Park for another solo acoustic set at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival. Full Show Friday today revisit’s explores the guitarist’s 17-song set at 49th annual folk festival from August 2, 2008.

Anastasio was a late addition to the historic Newport, Rhode Island event, at the time stating, “Newport has such an amazing heritage … It will be a true honor for me to play on the same historic stage as my heroes like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and so many others.”

During the Newport set, Anastasio debuted two new collaborative tracks with lyricist Tom Marshall, “If I Could Be A Sailor” and “Peggy.” The former was dedicated “to everyone on the boats out there” and marked the song’s sole performance of his career. The latter, a bubbly tune dubbed “Peggy,” was dedicated to Marshall and went on to be a staple of Trey Anastasio Band setlists in 2008. The song eventually disappeared from rotation in 2011.

In addition to those two songs, Anastasio also offered re-worked renditions of many classic tunes. In high spirits, Trey opened the show by exclaiming “Wow” and looking out over the crowd, who were similarly delighted to see the guitarist back on stage. He started the set with three decade-old numbers, “Brian and Robert,” “Farmhouse” and “Water in the Sky,” before moving into “Let Me Lie,” which had been debuted more recently in 2006.

A pairing of “Bouncing Around The Room” and “Heavy Things” led into the “If I Could Be A Sailor” debut, followed by the rarity “Mountains In The Mist.” The “Peggy” debut came later in the set, following “Sleep Again” and “Back On The Train.” Eventually, Trey turned to “Waste,” “Shine,” “Bathtub Gin” and “Wilson,” to end the frame. The guitarist offered a two-song encore consisting of two more classics, “Sample In A Jar” and “Chalkdust Torture,” to close the festival performance in full.

Watch pro-shot video of the full set below, courtesy of Jam & Psych on MV:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set: Brian and Robert [1], Farmhouse [1], Water in the Sky [1], Let Me Lie [1], Bouncing Around the Room[1], Heavy Things[1], If I Could Be a Sailor [2], Mountains in the Mist [1], Sleep Again [1], Back on the Train [1], Peggy [2], Waste [1], Shine [1], Bathtub Gin [1], Wilson [1]

Encore: Sample in a Jar[1] > Chalk Dust Torture[1]

Notes:

• [1] Trey solo acoustic
• [2] Debut; Trey solo acoustic