Dispatch disbands, reunites (Updated December 12, 2012)

When 166,000 fans show up for your farewell concert, chances are it really won't be your last performance as a group. Or at least it wasn't for Dispatch, a New England jam band which debuted in 1996 and called it quits in 2004 in front of a massive crowd at the Hatch Shell in Boston. Having staged several reunion shows, the band ended a seven-year hiatus in 2011 when they announced a national tour and finally released brand new music.

An indie outfit consisting of Brad Corrigan, Pete Francis and Chad Urmston, Dispatch came together while all three were attending Middlebury College. Their music was influenced by several genres, most notably folk-rock, reggae and funk. By the time the members of the band graduated, their live show was in high demand and the guys gained a following outside of New England thanks to early peer-to-peer file sharing programs like Napster and LimeWire.

As an indie group, Dispatch put out four studio albums. The last, "Who Are We Living For?" was followed by a nationwide tour that fueled tension among the band members. They announced plans for an indefinite hiatus after a nationally televised performance on late-night TV, and gave a free show in Boston on July 31, 2004 they called "The Last Dispatch." The event was said to be the largest concert in independent music history, and was eventually released as a three-disc set (two CDs, one DVD) later that year.

After several charity and volunteer events, Dispatch reunited in 2011. Not only did the band tour on its own, they also joined the Dave Matthews Band on the DMB Caravan.

Dispatch will embark on a European tour in 2013, including stops in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The tour kicks off January 23.