Warren Haynes

The Allman Brothers Band, 1969–2014

With the band: 1989–1997; 2001–2014
Instruments: Lead and slide guitar, vocals

Asheville Roots

Warren Haynes was born in Asheville, North Carolina, on April 6, 1960. He grew up on soul music and then on the British and Southern rock of the late 1960s, and he was playing professionally while still a teenager. At 20 he joined outlaw country singer David Allan Coe’s band. In 1988 he started the Christmas Jam in Asheville, a benefit for Habitat for Humanity that became an annual tradition.

The Dickey Betts Band

After he moved to Nashville, Warren joined the Dickey Betts Band and recorded Pattern Disruptive (1988) with keyboard player Johnny Neel, drummer Matt Abts and bassist Marty Privette. When the Allman Brothers Band came back together for its twentieth anniversary in 1989, Dickey brought Warren and Johnny with him.

A Voice in the Revival

Warren’s fiery slide guitar and soulful singing drove the band’s 1990s revival on Seven Turns (1990), Shades of Two Worlds (1991) and Where It All Begins (1994). He co-wrote many of the songs from those years, and his “Soulshine” has become a modern standard in our repertoire. The live “Jessica” from An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: 2nd Set won the band a Grammy Award.

Gov't Mule

In 1994 Warren, bassist Allen Woody and drummer Matt Abts started Gov’t Mule as a side project. In 1997 Warren and Woody left the Allman Brothers to give Mule their full attention. After Woody died in 2000, Warren kept the band going, and Gov’t Mule has toured and recorded steadily for three decades.

The Return

Warren came back to the Allman Brothers Band in 2001. He and Derek Trucks formed the twin-guitar lineup that recorded Hittin’ the Note (2003) and played all the way through the band’s final concert on October 28, 2014. Warren has also played with members of the Grateful Dead and released solo albums including Tales of Ordinary Madness, Man in Motion and Million Voices Whisper (2024). In 2026 he toured solo and with both the Warren Haynes Band and Gov’t Mule.