After they parted ways and went on swimming in different waters in 2004, the members of the popular band decided to reunite for several concerts in 2009, according to the band’s official Web site. The first three concerts are scheduled March 6, March 7 and March 8, but more dates will be announced later.

The Vermont based group will return to Virginia's Hampton Coliseum, where they had some of their best concerts in the past, before their split, including the 1998 appearance, which they later released as a boxed set called "Hampton Comes Alive" and a 2003 concerts following the band’s comeback show at New York's Madison Square Garden after a two year hiatus.

The guys, Guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, keyboard player Page McConnell and drummer Jon Fishman first reunited for a one-time-only gig this year during the wedding of their former road manager Brad Sands, which led to unconfirmed rumors of the band coming back together. Phish also received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Jammy Awards this spring.

As their 2004 split was amicable and quiet, opposed to other bad break-ups in the industry, the former members have been known to work together on several occasions and news of their whereabouts and solo projects is often found on the official Phish site, www.phish.com.

Although it was often considered a rather underground act, with non-commercial music, Phish obviously had millions of fans and had great success with live appearances. According to Billboard Boxstore the band racked up a total of $175,541,923 in concert grosses, with 5,842,798 tickets sold to 475 shows ever since they first appeared in 1989, making Phish one of the of the top touring acts in the country.

Who would have guessed that the guys who had their first concert at a Halloween dance in the basement of the ROTC dormitory, under the name Blackwood Convention, will be one of the most successful live acts of all times, despite their little TV and radio coverage and that the Rolling Stones Magazine will once say about them: "Given their sense of community, their ambition and their challenging, generous performances, Phish has become the most important band of the Nineties?"

In the summer of 2000, the band announced that they would take their first "extended time-out" following their upcoming fall tour. The two years of hiatus, as well as the four that have passed since the 2004 break-up, allowed the members of Phish to explore more deeply their musical side projects.

In a 2006 interview, bassist Mike Gordon was talking about the relationship between his former colleagues and a possible reunion, stating that "everybody's getting along really well. There's no reason it couldn't happen ... it would probably be a long time away ... I can never be sure, because I've never been able to predict the future."

Well, the comeback will happen after all and millions of fans are most grateful for the event.

Tickets for the Phish reunion shows are available on the band’s official Web page until October 8 and they will go on sale to the general public on October 18.