What do Phish and Taylor Swift have in common?? A lot more than you’d think… After Phish’s drummer and expert vacuum soloist, Jon Fishman, sported our Swiphtie T design, discussion among Swifties and Phans has exploded. The best part about it? It’s changed our lives and here’s how it all went down:
My husband and I are live music fans to an extreme, easily seeing over 1,000 shows in our 30ish years of life on this planet. So much so that we hit the road full time in our 1986 RV 3 years ago so that we can see even more live music. At the top of our list are Phish, Taylor Swift, TAB, and Grateful Dead bands like Dead & Co, Steely Dead, or Xtra Ticket.
This year alone, we’ve seen Phish, Taylor, and Grateful Dead music in Costa Rica, Mexico, and the US. So when I say we travel for live music… I really really mean it. At one point, we were attending over 4 shows a week + festivals. My husband, Mike, started accumulating concert Ts from small creators that focused on this music with inside jokes and puns. Overtime, he started creating his own designs that were super meta… only the die hard Phans would get it.
Finally after many paychecks spent on others’ apparel, we left our jobs as an attorney and financial analyst to launch a tie dye & screen printing business in 2020, selling on lot, online, and in swap meets as we traveled. Our line focused on our love for live music and color, but we realized we had to make a transition away from tie dye because it was nearly impossible to make in our RV.
Ok ok ok ok… back to the Swiphtie T, right??
How did we create the Taylor Swift + Phish shirt?
Phish is Mike’s favorite band. Taylor Swift is my favorite artist. We spend hours listening to both, trading theories about lyrics and tours, picking up on little hints and nods the artists give to their fans, and planning our concert schedules.
This year, I headed to Taylor Swift’s opening Eras Tour shows in Glendale, Arizona. I brought our car camper from Mexico to Arizona so that I could attend the show with my hardcore Swiftie sister, Ellie (and yes, we were some of the lucky ones that snagged Taylor Swift tickets during the initial presale).
Glendale was the first stop on The Eras Tour leg so nobody (except Swifties) knew how huge it would be – from the pre-show events to costumes to massive crowds to shaky TikTok live streams… Taylor Swift continued to break records. Ellie and I are both festival goers, so we had been planning this day since Midnights came out in October (shout out to our other sister, Abbie, who’s also a major Swiftie but couldn’t make the AZ dates).
Ellie and I decided to drive ourselves to the stadium and get there as early as possible to attend the pre-show Swiftie event! What I didn’t expect was to see just how much Swifties reminded me of Deadheads and Phans! Even during Taylor Swift’s first shows, crowds of people joined together before the show just like they would on Shakedown Street and lot scene for jam bands. It truly blew my mind to see the similarities when it came to creativity of outfits, DIY merch, supportive fans, dedication, and the good vibes/pure happiness everyone there had.
Mike ended up streaming the Taylor Swift show on a shaky TikTok screen – the light show and dedication to her craft also reminded us so much of Phish. He saw the videos of Swifties describing the vibe at the show and thought, “wow this is just like Phish!”
Independently, we saw an instant crossover. In an effort to relive the biggest concert high, I joined every Swiftie group (formed one myself too). I posted in a Phish Facebook group about the experience and was quickly invited to join the I hope you like Phish and Taylor Swift group. All Swiphties should join that group!
We were so excited to see we weren’t alone in the crossover between Taylor and Phish! It took a couple weeks to design the Swiphtie T with the exact rainbow coloring and smooth lettering that we wanted while also selecting colors and fabrics for the clothing that people would really enjoy wearing. Our previous time in the apparel industry taught us the importance of thoughtful design and materials.
So as Mike was getting pumped for Phish’s Spring Tour, the Swiphtie T was born! Swifties and Phans quickly ran to our newly-launched shop, Live Music Threads, snagging shirts for upcoming Taylor and Phish shows. We were so so so happy to just see that this crossover was bigger than we ever could’ve imagined.
Why did Jon Fishman wear the Taylor Swift Phish shirt?
After a couple months of selling the Swiphtie T, we got a very special order with an expedited request so that Jon Fishman could wear the Taylor Swift/Phish shirt to take his family to see The Eras Tour.
Now, they don’t even know this, but we had never turned around a shirt so quickly before. It was an all-day experience managing the printing, shipping options, and communication to get this shirt to Jon Fishman + family before the show, especially since we ship from the other side of the country.
Of course, since Fish is one of the people that inspired the entire shirt, we wrote a thank you letter and wished him the best for his Taylor show. We thought what a cool dad to sport the shirt to the show since we all know how important Eras Tour outfit coordination can be.
I was sitting at the kitchen counter messing with some new designs and updating our shop when Mike said, “Hey! We just got 4 back-to-back orders. It’s Friday so people are ordering now that it’s the weekend.”
I honestly thought it was a glitch in the system because they were all purchased within a minute of each other. When we checked our phones, we realized Jon Fishman had posted a picture of himself wearing our shirt with a caption thanking us and tagging our very very small business.
We were in complete shock. As a Phan, it was amazing just knowing he had a shirt. We did not expect him to post and share it like he did. His post was the perfect Dad energy for the Swiphtie T, and we were so grateful.
Where can I buy the Taylor Swift + Phish Swiphtie T?
The Swiphtie T was created by fans (us) for fans (you) as a way to share your love for your favorite artist. You can find it on our online shop: Live Music Threads. Jon Fishman is wearing our Large Logo Swiphtie T design in black!
Mike and I have loved every minute of this crazy ride with all of you and can’t wait to see you on tour! If you do see us, make sure to come say hi. We always try to bring stickers or bracelets to give away on tour!
And, check out our YouTube channel for tips on traveling more or to simply follow along on our travel/live music journey!