James B. Nelson and Nasya Miller Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Phish skipped a Wisconsin performance this year, but the jam band is calling Milwaukee home this week.

Lighting, sound and stage crews arrived Saturday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center for a week of rehearsals in advance of a short summer tour by the Vermont-based band that opens Friday in Chicago.

The musicians, including singer and guitarist Trey Anastasio, are expected later this week. However, no public performances are scheduled.

The band's unusual visit to Milwaukee was discussed on a Reddit thread dedicated to the band, and confirmed by a truck driver taking a break among a half dozen semis parked outside the Bradley Center.

Bradley Center president and CEO Steve Costello said in an interview that a major touring act had rented out the arena for the week, but he wasn't authorized to identify the band.

"This is about us being a good partner in the business that we're in," he said. "It was the right time and it was the right place for them."

The arena has been used in the past as a rehearsal hall by touring acts, Costello said.

Sometimes, bands work on their shows before performing at the Bradley Center.

That could wind up being the case with the chart-topping singer Lorde, who is beginning a North American tour with a Milwaukee date March 1. It's possible, Costello said, that Lorde's crew will arrange to come to town earlier and work out last minute details on the show.

It's unusual for a band to come to town for rehearsals and not play a date here, Costello said.

"You can be sure that it was the first thing that we asked when they approached us," Costello said of a Milwaukee performance. That request was turned down.

Phish hasn't played this area since 2015 when the band drew about 34,700 fans over two nights at Alpine Valley in East Troy. The band has played at the amphitheater several times over the years.

Last spring, Alpine Valley announced that it would be closed this year.

On Friday, Phish plays the first of three nights at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago, a 30,000 seat venue. It moves on to gigs in Ohio and Pennsylvania before starting a 13 date "residency" at Madison Square Garden in New York on July 21.

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