Ahead of St. Pete solo concert, Warren Haynes reveals the best gig he ever saw

There’s no better way to kick off the fall than with a gig at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes did just that, and even had the Colorado Symphony behind him to rip out Allman Brothers, Jerry Garcia, and his own tunes.

The Florida Orchestra won’t be behind the 64-year-old at the Mahaffey Theater this weekend (though considering some of its recent galas, anything’s possible for 2025), but it’s the second night of a new tour promoting Haynes' upcoming solo album Million Voices Whisper, set to feature guest spots from Derek Trucks and Lukas Nelson.

Haynes recently told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay about Frank Zappa being the best concert he ever saw in his life, and how he'd love to find a recording of the show.

Read his full comment below.

I would say probably Frank Zappa at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, 1978. I was a senior in high school. I’ve been looking to get a recording of that show. I’ve never heard it since that time period, but I think now, it may actually be on YouTube or something. I’ve been wanting to go back and revisit it. Musically, [it was] on a higher level than anything I had ever seen. I also saw Weather Report in ’76, which was astounding as well, and life-changing. But if I gotta pick one, it would be Zappa.

It was the In New York band, but it was right before Steve Vai joined. I think he and I talked about this. Steve Vai wasn’t in the band yet, but otherwise, it was that band. And it was just amazing. I was a huge fan for years prior to that, I’d been listening to Zappa’s music probably since I was like, 14 or something like that. But his bands were always on an extremely high level.

Tickets to see Warren Haynes play St. Petersburg’s Mahaffey Theater on Sunday, Sept. 22 are still available and start at $43.
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