The Vida Blue is Phish keyboardist Page McConnell's first solo project. When Phish decided, after 17 years, to take an indefinite hiatus, McConnell was undoubtedly the least prolific bandmember in terms of both composition and extra-curricular musical activities.

Nearly a year after the break began, McConnell traveled to New Orleans, where he convened with the Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge (a mainstay on the jam band scene Phish helped ferment) and Funky Meters' drummer Russell Batiste. McConnell had known Burbridge for over a decade, as Phish had often shared bills with the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Burbridge's seminal early-'90s band. Batiste and McConnell had first come into contact while working on a track for Get You A-Healin', a benefit album, with Phish bassist Mike Gordon and others.