No matter if the reason Phish hasn’t played New Orleans in many moons stems from the abject horror Bayou St. John residents felt toward the hippie invasion of Jazz Fest 1996 or lackluster ticket sales for a mid-week show at UNO’s Kiefer Lakefront Arena in 1999—the boys are back. Quint Davis literally went to great lengths to reel Phish back in for this year’s Jazz Fest, flying to New York City over the holidays to meet with the band’s management at Madison Square Garden over the course of their four sold-out shows to ink the deal.

The Trey Anastasio Band plays the House of Blues on February 7-8, 2014 (Photo: Dave Vann).

Frontman Trey Anastasio’s creative cup runneth over to the point of having released 17 albums (and Broadway musical in 2013’s Hands on a Hardbody) in various side projects, most notably among them the Trey Anastasio Band (TAB), which makes its first post-Katrina appearance in New Orleans with a two-night stand at the House of Blues. Like Phish, TAB went on hiatus while respective cards (and habits) were put in order before returning to the road in fall 2012 in support of their latest studio effort, Traveler. Formed in 1998, TAB has maintained a core nucleus of original players (drummer Russ Lawton, bassist Tony Markellis) while steadily increasing its ranks to include top-flight players such as searing Latin percussionist Cyro Baptiste and trumpeter/singer Jennifer Hartswick, a dynamic performer capable of Miles Davis Bitches Brew-era horn syncopation and jaw-dropping Robert Plant-esque vocal wails. With such musicianship behind him, expect Anastasio to lead the band through everything from Phish staples to Gorillaz covers.

Trey Anastasio Band at the House of Blues on February 7-8, 2014