Trey remains busy while Phish is on hiatus, preparing an orchestral arrangement of "Guyute" for performance with his mentor Ernie Stires and the Vermont Youth Orchestra two nights in early February in Troy, New York and at the Flynn Theatre in Burlington. By the end of the month Trey, Russ and Tony prepare for another solo tour, this time adding a three-piece native Vermont horn section consisting of longtime collaborator, Dave "The Truth" Grippo on alto saxophone, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, tuba and vocals and Andy Moroz on trombone. Trey's two-week tour stretches into early March as the sextet makes its way down the east coast, complete with a fiery performance of "Push On 'Til The Day" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Soon after returning home from his tour, Trey regroups in April with Oysterhead for some jamming/recording sessions at The Barn studio Vermont. In an equally unpredictable grouping, the IMAX film "All Access Front Row" is released, featuring Trey, B.B. King and The Roots performing "Rock Me Baby".

Meanwhile, Fish hits the road with Pork Tornado for a few weeks of touring in the Northeast, returning just in time to join Jamie Masefield and the Jacques Imo Allstars for two shows at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in early May.

Throughout this time, Mike works on "Rising Low", his documentary of Gov't Mule's "The Deep End" and appears with El Buho for a show at Tulsa Jamfest. At the second annual Jammy Awards in New York, Phish brings home the award for best studio album of the year ("Farmhouse") and best show of the year (7/11/00 Deer Creek).

With Oysterhead's recording finished for the time being, Trey turns his attention back to his own band, and adds Russell Remington on saxophone (from the Giant Country Horns) and Ray Paczkowski (another Burlington musician) on keyboards. Trey's band rehearses and records at The Barn in preparation for a month-long tour in July and early August. Special guests on Trey's summer tour include John Medeski, Mike Gordon and Marshall Allen of Sun Ra's Arkestra. After his summer tour, Trey re-unites in August with Stewart and Les to rehearse for Oysterhead's upcoming fall tour.

After working on the inaugural "Live Phish" CD series (released on September 18th), entrenching the tradition of releasing the band's unedited live concert releases, Page recruits Russell Batiste (Funky Meters, Papa Grows Funk) and Oteil Burbridge (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Allman Brothers Band) for a recording session in New Orleans. In October, Fish departs on a two-month tour with the Jazz Mandolin Project. That month also features two album releases, Gov't Mule's "The Deep End Vol. 1" featuring Mike and Page in a tribute to Mule's recently departed bass player Allen Woody, and the debut album from Oysterhead, "The Grand Pecking Order". Around that time, Trey resumes recording tracks for his solo album, which is released the following spring. In November, the Oysterhead tour wraps up and Mike joins El Buho for two more shows in Austin.

A full 420 days since their last concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Trey, Jon, Mike and Page perform three songs at longtime management employee, Jason Colton's wedding reception on the wedding band's gear, providing a fitting gift to the Coltons and reinforcing hopes that they would soon perform together as a band.

Page debuts his new band with Oteil and Russell, Vida Blue, performing December 30th at Higher Ground in Vermont and the 31st in New York City. As a New Year's treat, Trey and Mike join Vida Blue for a rousing encore of "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone."