Warren Haynes Will Play Jerry Garcia's 'Tiger' at Red Rocks in August July 26, 2016 17:06

Red Rocks Amphitheatre will host a Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration on Monday, August 1st, what would have been the late Grateful Dead guitarist’s 74th birthday. In celebration of the event, Warren Haynes will play Garcia’s iconic Doug Irwin guitar known as Tiger for the first time in public since the Dead’s final show in 1995.  Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals will join Haynes at Red Rocks, along with Jeff Sipe (drums), Lincoln Schleifer (bass), and Jasmine Muhammad (vocals).

Garcia introduced Tiger at Oakland Auditorium on August 4th, 1979, and he continued playing the legendary guitar all the way through his final song ("Box of Rain") at Soldier Field on July 9th, 1995.  In 2002, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay purchased the guitar in an auction, and it was recently delivered to members of Dead & Company for their summer tour rehearsals. 

While appearing with Bob Weir on What Happens Live last month, Dead & Company guitarist John Mayer showed no interest in playing Tiger.  Mayer told host and fellow Deadhead Andy Cohen, “With all the love in the world … It’s not necessarily a contact I want to make … I don’t know that I want to make contact with that part of it, it’s a little touchy for me and it’s just so damn heavy that guitar!”

Tickets for the Red Rocks symphonic celebration are available via AXS.com.

Watch Warren Hayes play Garcia's 'Wolf' with The Boston Pops in Lenox, MA during June of 2013 here: