Bernie Sanders has called them “one of the great American rock bands”. They’ve been together since 1983, selling out stadiums and hosting festivals where they’re the only band on the bill, drawing tens of thousands. Last week, they won the fan vote for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with 330,000 votes, beating the runner-up, the rock supergroup Bad Company, by 50,000.
Yet outside the US, Phish may be best known as the inspiration for Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food flavor. They’ve never had a significant mainstream hit. And when the Hall of Fame inductees were announced on Sunday, Phish weren’t among them. Bad Company was. Many fans seemed unbothered: “Phish is too out there, too innovative, not mainstream,” wrote one on a fan message board. “Hall of Fame just isn’t a Phish thing.” Added another: “Let the disdain and misunderstandings continue.”
