Oysterhead is an American rock supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish and drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police, with both Claypool and Anastasio providing vocals. The band's eclectic sound has been described as "alt-funk fusion". In April 2000 Superfly Presents asked Claypool to assemble a band to perform during New Orleans Jazz Fest. Claypool contacted Anastasio and together they agreed on mutual hero, Copeland. Oysterhead was originally intended to be a singular live performance at New Orleans Saenger Theatre on May 4, 2000. The band compiled a set of almost entirely original material for the show, practicing at Muskegon's Frauenthal Theatre. Tickets were scalped for up to $2,000 each, audience members included Francis Ford Coppola and Matt Groening. The band toured in 2001 and is scheduled to tour in 2021. Both times it has toured it has been interrupted due to significant disasters, both man-made and natural, in 2001 due to the 9/11 Attacks and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
''The Grand Pecking Order''
In 2001, Oysterhead officially reformed to record and release an album entitled The GrandPecking Order, which featured nine new tracks in addition to four songs originally debuted in New Orleans. The release of this album was supported by a brief tour of North America, during which most shows were performed to sold-out audiences. The Oysterhead tour of fall 2001 also saw the debut of the Matterhorn, a guitar played by Trey Anastasio featuring a full-size deer antler. On November 15, 2001, the band performed the song "Oz Is Ever Floating" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. After the 2001 tour, which had schedule changes due to the September 11 attacks, the trio went their separate ways.
Reformation at Bonnaroo
On June 16, 2006, Oysterhead reunited to perform a two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. The band performed music from The Grand Pecking Order during the set.
Reformation in 2019
On October 14, 2019, Oysterhead created social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter sparking debate about their reunion. On October 15, Oysterhead announced two shows on February 14 & 15 2020 at 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Oysterhead will be headlining the Sweetwater 420 Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. On December 6, Oysterhead announced they were headlining the 2020 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania. On December 17, they announced two shows in the Bay Area. They will perform in Berkeley, California on April 17, 2020; and Stanford, California on April 18, 2020 as well as Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 13, 2020. The Broomfield, Colorado shows featured 2 sets of music featuring songs from The Grand Pecking Order and various covers from individual careers. The setlists varied in terms of song placement, improvisation and chosen covers. The shows were met with high praise from those in attendance. Aside from the performance in Broomfield, the entire reunion for 2020 was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Oysterhead is now scheduled to tour through 2021.
