For the first time since the Grateful Dead’s final performance, Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger” guitar will be played at a public performance. The esteemed guitar was primarily used by Garcia from 1979 to 1989, though problems with his “Rosebud” guitar forced the mid-show switch. Since that day, “Tiger” has not been seen publicly, though the guitar did get some recent exposure.

When Dead & Company recently visited San Francisco, “Tiger” owner Jim Irsay recruited San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy to reacquaint the band members with the guitar. Though John Mayer never played the Garcia guitar publicly, the trip marked the first appearance for “Tiger” in San Francisco in over 20 years. Technician Steve Parrish literally wept when he was reunited with the instrument, and Peavy’s friends even brought the guitar to Terrapin Crossroads for a visit with Phil Lesh.

You can read more about the “Tiger” adventures in this feature piece with Peavy. 

With the big “Tiger” trip on everyone’s minds, it did not take long for Irsay to find a guitarist willing to take the guitar into the spotlight. Fittingly, that man will be Warren Haynes, who has been performing a series of Jerry Garcia Symphonic Tributes throughout 2016. Haynes has been using Garcia’s “Wolf” guitar, another famed axe from the Dead guitarist’s arsenal, but this upcoming performance is something special. Not only will it take place at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Not only will JGB member Melvin Seals be performing with the band. It’s also scheduled on August 1st: Jerry Garcia’s birthday.

Jim Irsay is lending the guitar for this performance so the public can experience and appreciate this historical artifact. Along with Chris McKinney, who is President of The Irsay Collection, Jim Irsay’s goal is to both preserve and promote the legacies of these beautiful instruments. Irsay also recently purchased a guitar from Prince’s arsenal. Says Irsay, “The love of music and the arts is something that’s really special to me… By collecting some of the most important artifacts of art and music history, I’m able to preserve them so they can be experienced and appreciated forever.”

We can’t wait for what is sure to be a magical performance!