Sincerity is a strange thing to introduce in the middle of a joke. On December 31, 2025, at Madison Square Garden, Phish did exactly that. As part of their New Year’s Eve gag, the band presented “Sincere” as a straight-faced barbershop quartet performance while dressed in milkman costumes. The setting was absurd, but the delivery was not; in classic Phish fashion, the contrast became the point.
Originally written by Meredith Willson for The Music Man, “Sincere” was conceived as a loving satire. Willson, versed in American popular song, used barbershop harmony to exaggerate turn-of-the-century courtship rituals, pushing earnestness so far that it became comic. Within a musical known for grand gestures like “76 Trombones,” “Sincere” functions as a smaller joke, one that only lands if performed with absolute seriousness.
Phish, of course, has a long-standing history with barbershop, blending faithful renditions of traditional standards with their own original compositions. Their repertoire ranges from turn-of-the-century classics like “Hello! My Baby” and “Sweet Adeline” to contemporary takes on “Free Bird” and “Strawberry Fields Forever,” alongside originals like “Grind” and “Birdwatcher.”
Trey Anastasio has often spoken of his affection for the form, noting that barbershop leaves a performer with nowhere to hide. Because every voice is exposed, the style demands a total, collective commitment to pitch and timing. Trey has frequently talked about the physics of the genre, specifically the "overtone" created when four voices lock in perfectly:
"There is this thing in barbershop called 'The Ring.' If all four people hit the pitch and the vowel shape exactly right, a fifth note - an overtone - appears out of thin air. It’s not being sung by anyone. It’s a physical phenomenon. We used to stand in a circle and try to find that 'ring' just to feel that sense of perfect order."
Reflecting on the intimacy of these moments, Trey told Charlie Rose:
"There was something magical about the silence in a huge arena when we would walk to the front of the stage to sing 'Sweet Adeline.' You could hear a pin drop. It was our way of saying to the audience, 'We’re all in this room together, right now, with no electricity between us.'"
It is music that demands sincerity by design, rewarding total buy-in with no escape hatches. While the song entered the public consciousness through the 1957 Broadway cast and 1962 film, its roots remain firmly planted in the theater district just blocks from Madison Square Garden. "Sincere" has endured primarily within theatrical circles as a kind of genre in-joke; any wink in the delivery collapses the premise.
In the original, the musically informed but otherwise somewhat suss Harold Hill brings together four men known to have tensions and has them harmonize on the words "ice cream", which is how Phish began this encore. Harold then tells a pair nearby, "Ladies, from now on, you'll never see one of those men without the other three," a great unspoken reference to the bond Phish's band members have shared, particularly since the 2009 reunion. Though in the original, one of the ladies replies, "Professor, you're wrong. Why, they've hated each other for fifteen years!"
"Sincere" from The Music Man. Video by Kyle Hamilton.
Phish’s New Year’s Eve rendition honored that tradition. Sung cleanly and without embellishment, the performance prioritized blend and balance over spectacle. By playing the song straight while surrounded by visual absurdity, the band reflected a familiar pattern: sincerity does not require solemnity, and musical commitment can coexist comfortably with an elaborate joke.
And, by the way, the name of that quartet performing it? The Buffalo Bills, perhaps an unspoken reference toanother Phish tune, were the 1950 International Quartet Champions of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. (SPEBSQSA). The 1999 winners, FRED, performed "Poor Heart" for the Mockingbird Foundation's compilation of covers of songs by Phish,Sharin' in the Groove.
Another association with the band and the quartet was shared by a phish.net user to the Helpdesk that the tenor in the group, their grandfather, who was named Vern Reed (wearing glasses on the left) was a long time resident of Burlington Vermont as well, having lived there for many decades and owned a store on Church street in the 70s.
In a venue central to the band’s mythology, “Sincere” stood as both novelty and statement. Phish’s humor often comes not from undermining a song, but from trusting the audience enough to let the music speak for itself. In that moment of shared silence, the milkmen found the "ring," transforming a comedic gag into a fleeting glimpse of perfect order.
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