Warren Haynes & String Cheese Incident Dig Into Allman Brothers Classics At Hulaween

Warren Haynes and The String Cheese Incident devoted much of Hulaween’s Saturday night Shebang to The Allman Brothers Band classics, with Grateful Dead, Talking Heads and Fleetwood Mac songs rounding out the collaboration. Billed as The Warren Haynes Incident, the October 24 performance at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida paired the guitarist with a zombie-costumed SCI for a 10-song set.

The collaboration expanded on a relationship that includes Haynes’ Fourth Of July sit-in on “U.S. Blues” at The Peach Music Festival in 2021. This time, Haynes stayed for an entire set, revisiting music from his years with the Allman Brothers while sharing lead vocal duties with several members of String Cheese.

SCI opened Saturday with a set of their own, beginning with “Fête Tama.” “Eye Know Why,” “Black Clouds” and “Bhangra Saanj” followed before the band linked “Jellyfish” and “Hi Ho No Show” to close the frame.

The Warren Haynes Incident began with five consecutive selections from the Allman Brothers repertoire. Haynes sang the opening “Whipping Post” before bassist Keith Moseley took the lead on “Ramblin’ Man,” the Dickey Betts-penned favorite from the Allmans’ 1973 album, Brothers And Sisters. Haynes returned to the microphone for “Melissa” and “Statesboro Blues.”

The instrumental “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” extended the Allman Brothers portion of the set before giving way to “Black Magic Woman.” Written by Peter Green and first released by Fleetwood Mac in 1968, the song became a hit for Santana two years later. Haynes handled the vocals on Saturday’s version.

Keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth then led Talking Heads’ “Swamp.” Dancers wearing alligator heads and swamp costumes appeared during portions of the set, adding another visual element to the band’s zombie attire.

Michael Kang sang the Grateful Dead’s “Eyes Of The World,” which flowed into “Soulshine.” The Haynes-penned song appeared on the Allman Brothers Band’s 1994 album, Where It All Begins, and has remained a staple of his performances across projects. Haynes led the Hulaween rendition before sharing vocals with guitarist Bill Nershi on “Southbound.” Another Betts composition from Brothers And Sisters, “Southbound” brought the collaboration back to the Allmans to finish the set. A fireworks display followed.

Watch footage of “Ramblin’ Man,” “Black Magic Woman,” “Swamp,” “Eyes Of The World,” “Soulshine” and “Southbound” below:

The String Cheese Incident resumes its Just Keep Spinning Fall Tour on Wednesday, October 28 in Red Bank, New Jersey. Halloween weekend brings the band to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on October 30 and 31.

Setlist (via SCI Facebook)

Set One: Fête Tama, Eye Know Why, Black Clouds, Bhangra Saanj, Jellyfish > Hi Ho No Show

The Warren Haynes Incident: Whipping Post[1], Ramblin’ Man[1], Melissa[1], Statesboro Blues[1], In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed[1] > Black Magic Woman[1], Swamp[1], Eyes Of The World[1] > Soulshine[1], Southbound[1]

Footnotes:
[1] with Warren Haynes on guitar; Haynes sang lead on Whipping Post, Melissa, Statesboro Blues, Black Magic Woman and Soulshine, and shared lead vocals with Bill Nershi on Southbound.