Last summer we invited everyone to rack up some good karma by making conditional pledges to donate to Mockingbird when their chosen events on Summer Tour occurred.

The most popular choice was to donate an amount for each 20-minute jam, but some fans pledged to donate if a specific song was played at a specific show, or in the hope that a friend would hear a "YEM," or if Mike wore neon shoes. People donated for all sorts of different things/reasons/events, hoping their tour wish(es) would come true! Some were realistic, some not so much, but when the donations were counted, the fundraiser was more successful than any of us ever imagined it would be: over twenty-thousand ($20,000) dollars was raised for music education programs!!!

So this year we’re going to do it all again. The menu options are a little more limited this year, but we hope you’ll find something that will inspire you to donate to Mockingbird.

#1 - The 20-minute Barrier

This was our most popular menu item last summer and with good reason: we all love those moments when a jam opens up and Phish sets a new path on a song we've heard countless times before. There’s really no significance to any particular jam exceeding 20 minutes, but it has become something of a thing. For this one, you’ll be pledging an amount for each 20+ minute jam Phish plays on a given tour, as measured by LivePhish track length. While the setlist team often takes a more hard-nosed approach to what constitutes a “20+ minute jam,” we’re going with an objective LivePhish-track standard here (even if the LivePhish track timing of the song includes audience applause). This also keeps @bizarchive free of conflicts of interest, so it is a dual-benefit, really.

#2 - Fresh Phish!

Who doesn't like fresh Phish? This is a pretty basic one. When you have the highest quality ingredients, it's best to stick to a simple preparation and let the Phish shine. You pledge an amount for each new original or cover debuted on Summer Tour.

#3 - From the Gamehendge Cellars

Sometimes the most special bottles of wine come from deep in the cellar. So it goes with Phish songs. For this one, your donation will be the amount you pledge multiplied by each bust out of a song not played for at least 100 shows. Anything over 500 shows counts double!

#4 - A La Carte

Not thrilled with our set menu? That’s ok, you can order a la carte. We have rules, though, so don't go Five Easy Pieces on us. The rules are simple: Song X at Show(s) Y (e.g. "Tweezer" at Orange Beach or “Hood” at 7/26/22). You can enter your song and show information below. Please limit yourself to songs Phish has previously played (and, ideally, are reasonably likely to play... we are trying to raise some money for music education, after all).

We’ll be keeping track of the progress on all of these throughout the tour, so look forward a slew of posts in the forum and your favorite social media locales shamelessly promoting each of these. So please sign up early and often. We’d love to get as many people as we can in on this before tour starts, but there’s no deadline. We’ll accept pledges through Dicksmas Eve!

A few notes:

We will send you an email at the end of tour (politely) reminding you of the total amount of your pledge with a link to donate. A big part of what makes this fundraiser exciting is how all of these great moments raise even more funds for Mockingbird. At the same time, we don’t want anyone to feel as if they’ve overcommitted themselves. So please consider how much you’re realistically comfortable donating and also know that if you’ve miscalculated this is not a binding contract and we’re not asking for any payment at this time. All donations are purely voluntary and we’ll be honored by any donation you’re able to make. The Mockingbird Foundation is a 501©(3) nonprofit corporation, so your donation is fully tax deductible. In the event the above links don’t work, the direct link to the sign-up form is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwS5e9_mRb_DZIdQSr6EfPGQ6Ra9-6dBc2N841d42hSdEbBw/viewform?usp=sf_link PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD AND ENCOURAGE YOUR FELLOW FANS TO PARTICIPATE!

On behalf of The Mockingbird Foundation, THANK YOU for your support!

If you liked this blog post, one way you could "like" it is to make a donation to The Mockingbird Foundation, the sponsor of Phish.net. Support music education for children, and you just might change the world.