Trey Anastasio To Speak & Perform At The Retreat’s Imagine Gala 2024

Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio has been tapped to give the keynote speech and perform at The Retreat’s annual Imagine Gala. The event will take place on October 12 at The Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

The Retreat is a recovery center in Wayzata, Minnesota. The non-medical facility where people can go to immerse themselves in the 12 Steps and learn how to thrive in sobriety inspired Divided Sky, a residential recovery center in Ludlow, Vermont opened by Anastasio late last year.

Trey Anastasio initially raised funds for the Divided Sky Foundation and the resulting facility with his Beacon Jams livestream concerts in the fall of 2020. Anastasio visited The Retreat this past May while on tour with Classic TAB.

“On my recent Classic TAB tour I had the good fortune to visit The Retreat in Wayzata, MN, and its founder John Curtiss,” Anastasio wrote in a personal update on Divided Sky Foundation in the wake of his trip to the facility. “The Retreat has helped over 31,000 people get sober, and is the inspiration for Divided Sky. Both are non-medical programs based on abstinence and the 12-steps. Study after study has shown this is the best way to get and stay sober.”

Trey Anastasio also discussed his visit to The Retreat when he was asked what the Divided Sky Foundation means to him during a recent interview with Guitar World’s Alan Paul. Anastasio detailed the importance of the facility, stating:

“It means so much. I had the idea for a while and the funding organically happened during the Beacon jams. I love those shows for so many reasons, mostly because it was free for people during that whole Covid craziness and it ended up being for a purpose. All these people in the community came forward and talked about their brother or sister or their best friend who struggled with addiction, and donated money, and we bought the place. It’s a 46-bed facility and we’re now open.

“On my last tour I met with John Curtiss, who started a program in Minnesota called The Retreat and has helped 30,000-plus people get sober. Our clinical director Melanie was my case manager in drug court when I got sober, and everybody who works there is sober.

Look at how many musicians we love who are passing away. It doesn’t last forever, so what are you going to do with what you have?

“It’s this beautiful spot amidst the leaves, but the final part was the reality check: if you want to do this nice thing and offer it to people, you must raise money. It’s a nonprofit, but you have staff, and we’ve been trying to figure out how to make this work. And John has taken a mentorship position, and he is such a help.

“I’m going to cry talking about this, but we’ve assembled an amazing board, and we have a viable program that’s working. It’s been a joyous experience. It’s a lot of work, but the clouds are parting and there’s a light shining through. I think it’s going to work.”

John Curtiss recently announced Anastasio’s upcoming appearance at the Imagine Gala. Click this link to register for or sponsor The Retreat’s Imagine Gala 2024.

The next shows currently confirmed for Phish is the band’s eighth annual Phish: Riviera Maya destination event in Mexico January 29 – February 1, 2025. Anastasio will play his only full Trey Anastasio Band show of 2024 at Sea.Hear.Now in Asbury Park, New Jersey next Sunday, September 15.