Anonymous Rock Hall Voters Share Ballot (And Really Don’t Like Phish)
When it comes to many award shows, it’s common for “anonymous voters” to speak with media outlets about their ballot and explain why they voted the way they did. Vulture was able to speak with two Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voters recently, and for Phish fans, they won’t like what they had to say.
For starters, neither voter included Phish on their ballot for the 2025 induction class. One of the voters said they “didn’t appreciate Phish until I saw them live.” This voter also touched on how Trey Anastasio inducted Genesis into the Rock Hall in 2010 and how Phish performed in tribute to the band at the induction ceremony.
Despite this, they said, “I didn’t vote for them, just because I felt there were other people who deserved it more this particular year.”
The other anonymous voter, however, is another story. They bluntly said, “If I were going to rank this ballot, Phish would be dead last. A big fat no.”
They did elaborate on their distaste for the band by explaining, “I come by my distaste honestly: About ten years ago, I was at a bar with some buddies; I was relatively sober and something had been playing on the jukebox for about 15 minutes. I was finally like, ‘What is this sh-t music?’ It was in minute 18 of a 20-minute track from the Phish album A Live One. Some jerk had used his $2 for TouchTunes to put on a Phish track because (a) he’s a Phishhead and (b) he wanted to punk the whole bar. All the clichés apply.”
They noted that they appreciated how Anastasio is “a genuine fan of rock history, but in the end, they summarized, “I just can’t stand the music.”
While there are far more than just two voters who determine an induction class, explanations like this give credence to feelings that the Rock Hall voters are very out of touch with fans. As of publishing, Phish is currently in first in the Rock Hall Fan Vote. They have an over 68,000-vote lead on Bad Company, who is in second.
Obviously, the fan vote can change drastically in the next month. The 2025 Rock Hall Fan Vote runs until April 21. Fans can vote once per day for seven artists at Vote.RockHall.com. Once the voting period is over, the top seven artists will make up the Fans Ballot, which will be counted among all submitted ballots.
As of March 14 at 3:45 p.m., here are the current standings of the Rock Hall Fan Vote:
1. Phish: 215,456
2. Bad Company: 147,041
3. Billy Idol: 146,750
4. Soundgarden: 135,679
5. Cyndi Lauper: 131,108
6. Joe Cocker: 127,229
7. Chubby Checker: 112,734
8. The Black Crowes: 96,812
9. Mariah Carey: 90,730
10. Joy Division + New Order: 72,638
11. The White Stripes: 68,946
12. Outkast: 67,969
13. Oasis: 64,836
14. Maná: 24,395
