Attendance Bias Venue Preview: Coca-Cola Amphitheater, Birmingham, AL w/Bobby Shirley
Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. Today, we continue our 2025 miniseries of previewing each venue on Phish’s late summer or early fall tour with a brand new venue–not just new to Phish fans but new to the world–the Coca Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham, Alabama.
Today’s guest to give us the inside scoop on the amphitheater is none other than the co-host of the Phish Phry Podcast and Alabama native, Bobby Shirley. Bobby and his son Oliver were on Attendance Bias about two years ago to tell about their experience at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama where Bobby took Oliver to his first show and they were lucky enough to meet Trey before the show started.
Bobby returns today to review Phish’s long history in the Birmingham area, diving into their two appearances in 1994, and their several performances at the Oak Mountain Amphitheater over the next 20-plus years.
More than that, the Coca-Cola Amphitheater just opened at the time that Bobby and I spoke, so for all of you listeners who are planning to catch Phish at in Birmingham, we’ve got good news: this seems like the perfect place for a mid-September two night stand in the south.