Following his much-publicized performance with Dave Matthews at the Concert for Island Relief, Trey Anastasio and his wife Sue traveled down to the British Virgin Island of Tortola to visit and survey relief efforts.

Following Hurricane Irma, Anasatasio posted a message on Phish.com, describing the “incalculable” damage the tropical isle sustained. He also reflected on his family’s countless days and nights spent there.

“Over the years, we’ve made many close friends in Tortola, the kindest people you will ever meet anywhere,” he wrote. He described how the island looked like it had been “leveled by a bomb” and urged fans to contribute to relief efforts.

Anastasio went on to mention all of the songs that were inspired by the island’s beauty: “The bulk of ‘Mercury’ was written while sitting by the water in Tortola. Recently ‘Breath and Burning,’ ‘Tide Turns,’ and ‘More’ were all written there. Loads of older songs were written there, too many to name, dating all the way back to the early 90’s.. I remember writing the melody for ‘Lifeboy’ while walking with my little travel guitar in the hot sun on that first trip in 1992. I can still hear the pace of the island in that guitar riff.”

After raising funds through the Concert for Island Relief and spending some time back in Tortola, Anastasio shared a short note and some images from his trip, as seen below.

Sue and I visited the Leonora Delville (Capoons Bay) and Isabella Morris (Carrot Bay) schools, as well as the Capoon Bay Clinic in Tortola, where we met with some incredible people from the local community. We also ran into our friend Claire, who was at the Phish show in 1999! We wanted to share some photos of the kids playing. The tents you see are the temporary classrooms, set up on the basketball court.

Thank you so much again to everyone who participated in the fundraiser and the Concert for Island Relief!