INTERVIEW: Warren Haynes Discusses 30 Years of Gov’t Mule Ahead of SPAC Performance
Photo by Emily Butler
“If someone feels remotely as passionate about my music as I do about the things that I cherish then that’s an overwhelming feeling and something I’m extremely grateful for.”
My first concert ever was The Dead with Warren Haynes on the Wave That Flag Tour at SPAC in Saratoga Springs on August 1st, 2004. I was a two-year-old little dead-head, dancing and singing every lyric. A first concert is something that sticks with you, so when I got the email offer to interview Warren Haynes and was sent the demo of his new release, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
Gov’t Mule kicked off their 30th Anniversary tour at the end of August. Haynes is looking forward to celebrating three decades of the band and playing songs across all 13 studio records on this tour.
“Since there's so much material to choose from, we’re able to do a different set list every night,” he said. “We really enjoy playing as many different songs over the course of a tour as possible.”
The Mule is hitting 29 cities across the US and Canada, including a special co-headlining show with Tedeschi Trucks at SPAC on September 5th. There will only be five shows with Tedeschi Trucks and we are so lucky to have one of these in the Capital Region.
“I’m really excited about this collaborative tour and I think there's going to be a lot of on stage collaborations. I'm really looking forward to it. New York has been such an embracing audience for us in general… whenever we play ‘Soulshine’ in that area [for example], you can feel the connection the audience has with that song and I'm very grateful for that.”
In addition to the extensive commemorative tour, Haynes is also gearing up to release The Whisper Sessions, a nine track album, of stripped back versions of some of the songs from his 2024 album, A Million Voices Whisper. These sessions are the most emotionally moving new music I have heard in the past year. We discussed how writing “Real Real Love” from Gregg Allman’s lyrics began this project.
“Having spent so much time playing and writing music with Gregg, I have a good handle on how he would approach songs, and with ‘Real Real Love’ more than any song I've ever written or co-written, I wanted to honor the way he would approach it. I wrote the music in a way that I felt reflected his style of songwriting, and even the way I approached the vocal in the studio, his presence was extremely strong during that entire process, you know.
“Gregg and I wrote a lot of songs through the years and somehow we had never tackled that one. When I saw the handwritten lyrics after he passed away, I got inspired to write music for it and then some additional lyrics, and I immediately called Derek and that triggered this whole conversation. In some ways, it was the catalyst for that whole project.”
The Whisper Sessions puts a focus on Haynes’ strength as a singer-songwriter not heard often since his acoustic opening sets when touring with The Dead in the early 2000s. These raw forms highlight Haynes’ soulful songwriting, reflecting his folk and country roots, while also showcasing his undeniable talent as a guitarist, and the power in his voice that comes from within. It offers a reminder that’s especially important in the age of increasing technology in the music industry: It doesn’t matter how well a song is mixed; if it doesn’t have that ability to be emotionally moving from the start, it will never get there. Great songs are great from the start.
“These versions offer some insight into where the songs come from, how they started, the form they existed in before showing them to the band,” Haynes told me. “I’m not playing any virtuoso guitar parts; I'm just kind of singing the song and backing myself up. I think especially the hardcore fans will get some insight into the process of how the songs grow and turn into what they become. It’s more intimate, you can focus on the lyrics more and the mood of the song.”
The sessions include an expressive cover of Tammy Wynette's “Til I Make It On My Own” and a cover of “Melissa” with Derek Trucks, referencing Haynes’ early music inspirations.
“The idea of doing ‘Melissa’ came about as an afterthought after Derek and I did ‘These Changes’ and ‘Real Real Love’.‘Melissa’ came up and we said, ’Let’s do one take of that and if it’s good, we’ll use it.’ So that’s the first and only take of ‘Melissa’, and it was cool!... It’s a beautiful song; I’ve always loved that song.”
Photo by Shervin Lainez
Anyone familiar with Haynes knows that he is often working on multiple musical projects at the same time, never boxing himself into one genre. It’s something he attributes to his upbringing.
“I've always been fascinated with a lot of different genres of music and I've always enjoyed expressing myself in as many different ways as possible. It goes back to growing up in Asheville, North Carolina and the music scene there. There was a folk scene of singer-songwriters that I was fortunate enough to tap into. There were all the local rock guitar players and blues guitar players. I became enamored with jazz at a really young age and so all these things were equally appealing to me. I would try to pursue opportunities in these different directions and see where they led and I feel very fortunate that I'm able to carry that philosophy over to what I'm doing this far down the line. I realize it's not something that everyone has the opportunity to do and I credit my audience for giving me that chance because it is a little unorthodox and if it weren't for [them], I wouldn't feel as comfortable expressing myself in all these different ways as I do.”
Haynes is such a phenomenal guitarist that his guitar slinging sometimes overshadows his talent as a songwriter and singer. Haynes’ emotional voice is so strong that you cannot ignore the impact he has on the lives of his audience through his personal lyrics about life and change. These same qualities have been at the heart of Gov’t Mule since its beginning, making this band one of the most influential groups in the past three decades.
“I'm so passionate about the music that I love and that I grew up studying. If someone feels remotely as passionate about my music as I do about the things that I cherish then that’s an overwhelming feeling and something I’m extremely grateful for.”
Gov’t Mule and Tedeschi Trucks will perform at SPAC on September 5th. For tickets, visit https://mule.net/tour/
To further celebrate their 30th anniversary, Gov’t Mule will be releasing some archival material and details will follow in the next few months.
The Whisper Sessions will be available on all streaming platforms on September 12th.