"They are one of the great bands in this country," @BernieSanders says about @Phish https://t.co/49xUlymYpm
— Austin Hunt (@AustinHunt) March 2, 2016
Bernie Sanders is from Vermont, a state famous for three wonderful things: Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream, wonderful skiing, and the spiritual home of Phish, the greatest jam band of this generation.
Today at a rally in Portland, Maine, Sanders took the stage after to throw a special shout out to the band’s drummer, Jon Fishman, an unabashed Sanders supporter. The Democratic Presidential candidate shouted out the band with a special non-political acknowledgement: “Let me thank one of Vermont’s heroes who is now transplanted. Jon and Phish have made New England proud. They are one of the great bands in this country.”
Those are kind words, though hardly surprising considering that he was Mayor of Burlington during the band’s rise in the ’90s. As Brian Ries points out at Mashable, the group had some fun with the “Feel the Bern” mantra during a soundcheck at Magnaball, their festival this past summer.
It’s probably safe to say that Bernie already had the jamband vote on lock (you know, the whole marijuana legalization thing), but now he’s officially secured it.