Phish’s festival sound checks have always offered a rare visit inside their Fortress of Solitude. A far cry from a traditional tech run, these playful, improv-heavy tests have consistently showcased Phish at their loosest and most experimental—a quick peek behind the curtain and into the wild rehearsals the members of The Vermont Quartet have often said are where the true magic happens.

Yesterday afternoon’s Magnaball sound check was no exception: Phish took the stage—despite a steady downpour—around 5:15 PM and kicked into a deep, improvisational groove that felt inline with the open-ended jams the band has explored since this summer’s shows took a freeform turn during “Kill Devil Falls” in Atlanta on July 31 (the eve of Jerry Garcia’s birthday). While most festival sound checks have included a few proper songs, half-baked covers, special guests or even a stray novelty vignette about a vendor, Thursday’s offerings consisted solely of a jam clocking in at just over 45 minutes. The segment kicked off with a chunky nugget based around Jon Fishman’s funky beats and Trey Anastasio’s bluesy vamps that occasionally recalled “46 Days.” After finding a comfortable pocket, Fishman repeated the phrase “feel the burn” several times while using numerous vocal inflections. (Some observers speculated that he was actually saying, “feel the bern” in reference to Vermont Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.) From there, the sequence moved in several directions, even rubbing up against Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water,” a favorite from the band’s 1999 campout in nearby Oswego, N.Y. At one point, Phish shed their danceable groove in favor of something a bit more sinister; during another turn, Page McConnell tested out his blissful grand piano with a pretty fill that would work well under a “Harpua” narration or another story-song epic. Mike Gordon’s fuzzy bass bombs surfaced a few times as well, and once they were all tuned up, the band settled into a subtle ambient trance characteristic of both their late ‘90s sets and current early second-set meditations. The extended movement was a perfect survey of Phish’s current palette of sounds and a welcome continuation of the “Type II” moments that characterized recent shows in Philadelphia and Columbia, Md. (By broadcasting their sound check through the FM fuzz of Magnaball’s official onsite radio station, The Bunny, Phish unintentionally shed some light on their deep-crate, record-bin roots, too. Their performance arrived in the middle of a program block that included The Bunny’s regular mix of ‘90s indie, college rock and deep funk—and the juxtaposition emphasized an art-rock strain of Phish’s DNA that is often overshadowed by their technical abilities and arena-rock prowess.)

Yet, the “feel the burn” scat remained the night’s unofficial call line. In many ways, Magnaball is the climax—if not the culmination—of Phish’s summer tour, and Fishman’s words could be taken as one final, gentle push to usher fans along to the final leg of their journey. Phish’s festival sound checks have also always served as metaphors for these weekend events themselves. Beginning with The Clifford Ball, their first official festival in 1996, Phish have used their summer gatherings as a chance to build a true city around their community—a place where they can play with the comfort of a sound check and turn their catalog of songs and catchphrases into an amusement park of installations and activations. Though rock fests have been part of the summer landscape since at least the mid-1960s, Phish’s multi-day events have unquestionably laid the groundwork for the modern multi-band summer circuit. Phish’s recent weekend events at New York’s Randall’s Island and Atlantic City, NJ’s Bader Field served as fun community rallying points that were filled with inspired pockets of music, but the band hasn’t built a true metropolis since their visit to Watkins Glen, NY in 2011. In that time, the festival circuit has ballooned, not only in terms of the number of events held during any given month, but also in terms of the non-musical offerings that truly turn these events into self-sustaining villages.

Phish have placed a newfound creative emphasis on their culinary offerings this year, including the Festival Ate restaurant, which will host a series of gourmet, five-course meals with a focus on locally sourced food and Phish-themed dishes such as Cavern-Aged Grilled Cheese and Fluffhead S’more Tart.

“The reality is most everything is new this year,” says Lulu Kalman, who is curating and managing Magnaball’s food and beverage options. “Phish fans are mature, and they are maturing. They care a lot more about what they are eating. There is no reason that coming out to a show means they should have to relinquish those standards. I am trying to take an approach that emphasizes elevated food quality and vendors who are cooking in a way that is a lot more thoughtful. They are cooking with the quality of a restaurant, despite the quantity of a festival. We are shying away from that big truck of frozen food that’s dropped into a fryer. But we want it to be accessible and affordable at the same time.”

In addition to daily multi-course tasting menus, Festival Ate will offer bar food and lighter fare throughout the weekend. Kalman describes Festival Ate’s menu as “almost vegetarian,” though beef or pork options are available. “We want it to be reflective of the seasons and the bounty up here—the fact that it is August is a huge win,” she says, pausing to praise today’s guest chef, Syracuse foodie-scene mainstay Emma Frisch.

“We want to make our dining experience a group experience that lets people come together in a more comfortable way—a chance to sit down when you are not on the rail. Coachella and Bonnaroo offer field dining options, and we are taking that a step further. After camping all weekend, it is a nice surprise to drink out of a glass and eat with silverware.”

Likewise, Magnaball will host Phish’s first festival cocktail program in The Genius Bar. Before You Slip Into The Night will boast a handful of inventive drinks crafted with the help of a few noted New York mixologists and sommeliers. They will create pun-heavy cocktails such as Satan on the Beach, Coconuts & Chloroform, Mule Duel and The Red, Red Worm. (Craft breweries such as Vermont’s Hill Farmstead Brewery and Lawson’s Finest Liquids, New York’s Sixpoint Brewery and California/North Carolina’s Sierra Nevada will pour on site as well. Sierra Nevada is even bringing back its award-winning Foam pilsner from Phish’s Festival 8.)

“It seems inevitable that these two very similar worlds exist within a Venn diagram like this,” says Julian Sherman of New York’s boutique NoMad Hotel, who dreamt up Before You Slip Into The Night with Phish manager Jason Colton. “It’s not an experience if you can’t bring someone along.”

Jonathan Schwartz, who works in the wine and beverage industries and will bring his expertise to Before You Slip Into The Night, sees the cocktail program as an extension of the overall Phish sensory experience. “The auditory element is something Phish are experts at, but that’s only one of the five senses,” he says. “In the past, they’ve had serious art installations at the festivals. That’s two senses. The craft cocktail component is now appealing to our senses of smell and taste. Fans can expect to have tasty, complex cocktails that go well beyond the standard well. We’ll be serving a michelada made with local yellow tomatoes that is ridiculously refreshing and beguiling delicious. The coconut water based cocktail is simultaneously intoxicating and hydrating. The rose wine based cocktail also incorporates a local effort (the wine and, to an extent, the gin that’s made in Brooklyn) and will re-claim pink as the color of masculinity.”

He believes passionate music fans have a lot of parallels with cocktail aficionados. “The more you care and invest into it, the greater and more gratifying the results can be. One doesn’t need to know anything about Phish to enjoy ‘Martian Monster’ -> ‘Skin It Back.’ However, when one is aware of the history associated with both songs and just how rare an occurrence such a performance is, it adds another layer of enjoyment to the experience. It’s the same thing with the connoisseurship of food and beverage.”

Of course some old festival pals are also returning. Vermont neighbors and Phish friends Ben & Jerry’s will setup in the Craft Village with their “Save Our Swirled” activation, offering free samples and recruiting climate activists. Longtime Phish employee Beth Montuori Rowles, who oversees the band’s charitable arm WaterWheel and is responsible for many of Magnaball’s unique elements, mentions that fans can sign the Avaaz “100% Clean” petition, which “calls on leaders of the developed nations to tackle climate change at the upcoming United Nations summit in Paris.” The program’s goal is for international leaders to work toward 100% Clean Energy by 2050.

Montuori Rowles also notes that the JEMP Record Store, which was created for 2011’s Super Ball event, will return to Watkins Glen. This year’s must-snag-record is the band’s dream-inspired 1993 concept album Rift, which will be made available on vinyl for the first time. The festival version will be pressed on 180-gram water-blue vinyl and is packaged with a limited-edition screen print by Rift artist David Welker. The store will be equipped with vinyl listening stations and selections from the band’s vinyl catalog, including choice records like “The White Tape” and A Picture of Nectar.

The Clifford Ball is remembered for the epitaph, “a beacon of light in the world of flight.” Will Magnaball’s motto remain “feel the burn?” Only time will tell. Until then, the only rule is it begins.