Popular jam-band Phish [ tickets ] will split following the group's summer tour, frontman/guitarist Trey Anastasio said in a surprise announcement.

The band's final performances will take place at Coventry, a two-day music and arts festival on Aug. 14-15 on the grounds of the Newport State Airport and adjacent fields in the town of Coventry, VT.

"Last Friday night, I got together with Mike, Page and Fish to talk openly about the strong feelings I've been having that Phish has run its course and that we should end it now while it's still on a high note," Anastasio wrote in a message posted on the band's official website. "Once we started talking, it quickly became apparent that the other guys' feelings, while not all the same as mine, were similar in many ways--most importantly, that we all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health. We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act. By the end of the meeting, we realized that after almost 21 years together we were faced with the opportunity to graciously step away in unison, as a group, united in our friendship and our feelings of gratitude.

"So Coventry will be the final Phish show. We are proud and thrilled that it will be in our home state of Vermont. We're also excited for the June and August shows, our last tour together. For the sake of clarity, I should say that this is not like the hiatus, which was our last attempt to revitalize ourselves. We're done. It's been an amazing and incredible journey. We thank you all for the love and support that you've shown us."

Phish ended a two-year hiatus from live performances in 2002 with a sold-out New Year's Eve show at Madison Square Garden. During the downtime, the band's members worked on various solo projects.

Phish is scheduled to issue a new album, "Undermind," on June 15. The set--apparently the group's final studio effort--was recorded at The Barn, the band's Vermont studio, and was mixed in England's Real World Studios by producer Tchad Blake (Los Lobos, Peter Gabriel).

The CD's first pressing will include a bonus DVD that houses a 26-minute short film, titled "Specimens of Beauty," about the recording of the album. The film was directed by longtime Phish photographer Danny Clinch.

The band opens its summer tour on June 17, with the first of two performances at Coney Island's Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, NY. That show will be simulcast to various Regal Entertainment Group movie theaters.

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