Phish release statement after stabbing incident outside show leaves one dead and two injured

Phish studio portrait
(Image credit: Danny Clinch)

Jam band veterans Phish have released a statement after a stabbing incident outside their Friday show at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, left one person dead and two injured.

According to Norfolk, VA, news channel WTKR, the incident occurred during the show near an unofficial merchandise booth located in a parking lot outside the Hampton Coliseum.

Police report that an altercation between several people escalated into a violent confrontation that left three injured, one of whom succumbed to their injuries after being transported to hospital. A second individual was also hospitalised, while a third was able to walk to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

"During last night’s show, a tragic incident took place in the parking lot outside Hampton Coliseum," say the band. "There was an altercation behind one of the tents in the unofficial vending area in which someone lost their life and two other people were injured.

"We don’t have more information than what has been reported by the police, who called it an isolated incident, but what we do know is upsetting enough. We are deeply saddened by this and our hearts go out to all of those affected."

Local police have confirmed that a person of interest who fled the scene was found and detained nearby.

The incident occurred during the first of three dates at the Hampton Coliseum, the final shows of Phish's Summer Tour 2025. The band's next bookings are a quartet of December dates scheduled for New York's Madison Square Garden between Christmas and the New Year.

Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 39 years in music industry, online for 26. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

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