SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Next month, Jon Fishman will have two reasons to return home to Syracuse. First, his father, Leonard, is celebrating his 82nd birthday. And second, he's accepting the highest honor the Syracuse Area Music Awards has to offer: The Lifetime Achievement Award.

Fishman -- drummer and namesake for the Vermont jam-funk quartet Phish -- has been named this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by the SAMMYs.

The SAMMYs will present Fishman the award at a Hall of Fame ceremony upstairs at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on Thursday, March 5. The class of 2015 also includes Bobby Comstock, Chris Goss, Loren Barrigar, The Works and David Rezak (Music Educator award).

Jon Fishman, drummer for rock band Phish, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame next month.

Though Phish has taken him around the world, Fishman is a Syracuse native -- a 1983 graduate of Jamesvile-DeWitt High School. He began drumming here as a young man, taking lessons from Dave Hanlon, another notable SAMMYs Hall of Famer. In fact, Fishman was on hand to present Hanlon his HOF trophy in 2005.

Following graduation from J-D, Fishman attended University of Vermont. While there, he met Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, with whom he would form the band Phish (named for Fishman).

In the 30-some years since, Phish has established itself as one of the premier touring acts in the nation, with a rabidly loyal fan base and counterculture often likened to that of the Grateful Dead.

While Fishman now lives in Maine with his wife and several children, he has ties to Central New York. His fathter, Leonard, lives in the area and will celebrate his 82nd birthday just two days after the Hall of Fame ceremony.

His last trip to Syracuse with Phish came in 2009, when the band played to a sold-out War Memorial. In 1997, however, Fishman stopped by Chuck's in Marshall Square unannounced, where he sat in with a Phish tribute band called "Stash."

In addition to his drumming -- which earned him the cover of DRUM! Magazine last fall -- Fishman is best known for his unusual stage dress (he often wears a blue frock covered in red donut-shaped circles) and his popular vacuum solos.

Fishman's award marks the first time since 2010 that the Lifetime Achievement honor has gone to a living individual artist. Recent recipients include Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Van Heusen and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony are $25. Information is available via SyracuseAreaMusic.com.