Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio began The Beacon Jams weekly livestream residency at The Beacon Theatre in New York City. The concert featured a Trey Anastasio Band lineup of bassist Tony Markellis, drummer Russ Lawton, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and percussionist Cyro Baptista. Following tour cancellations from the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Anastasio began releasing new songs recorded while quarantined in his apartment in New York City, which became the foundation for his solo album released on July 31, Lonely Trip. Anastasio was tapped to be the first in-studio performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the August 11 episode that aired after the program’s monthslong reliance on remotely recorded episodes. In September, Anastasio recorded a solo performance in Central Park for the City Parks Foundation Presents A SummerStage Jubilee streaming event. In June, Anastasio spoke about the possibility of playing a concert in an empty room, indicating he was not interested in playing without a live audience. “I don’t know if I want to play without our community with me,” Trey told Relix. “It’s a bridge I haven’t been able to cross.” Anastasio’s bridge-crossing performance on Friday, October 9 was the first of eight of The Beacon Jams, which continue each Friday for the next seven weeks. After taking the stage at the empty historic NYC venue, Trey selected the fitting “Corona,” the opening track off his 2012 solo album, Traveler, to start Friday’s single set show. The musicians were arranged facing the back of the stage, with the empty theater’s seats surviving as the backdrop. The Phish/TAB crossover “Blaze On” came next and delivered an extended improvised section that saw Trey — playing his “Blonde No. 2” Languedoc guitar — and Ray going back and forth for several passages and a percussive breakdown featuring Russ and Cyro. After “Blaze On,” Anastasio responded to some of the comments from the livestream and thanked the production crew.