Warren Haynes Reflects on the Hurricane Damage to His Hometown and Raising Relief Aid With Soulshine Benefit

Warren Haynes has — characteristically — a lot on his plate these days, including this week’s release of his new solo album Million Voices Whisper. But his eye is also firmly on his home state of North Carolina and his hometown of Asheville, which was ravaged by Hurricane Helene last month and is still in the throes of rebuilding and recovery.

Haynes tells Billboard that his family is safe and has largely returned to Asheville, though his brother’s record store, like so many businesses, suffered debilitating damage. He won’t be able to host his annual Christmas Jam concert there this year, but he’ll be part of Soulshine, which will take place Nov. 24 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Haynes’ band will be joined by the Dave Matthews Band, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and Goose, as well as guests such as Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Mavis Staples, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Trombone Shorty, Joe Russo and more. Tickets are on sale Friday (Nov. 1) with a pre-sale for Haynes’ fan club on Thursday (Oct. 31). Proceeds will go to relief efforts in both North Carolina and Florida, which was subsequently hit by Hurricane Milton.

“The object now is ty try to raise as much money as possible,” Haynes says. “It was terrible to watch. I was on tour and was watching CNN and saw them panning the River Arts District, which is where my brother’s store is; they panned as far as the building next door to it, and it was underwater. I was like, ‘Sh-t my brother’s store is right there,’ but at that time I couldn’t reach anybody, and they couldn’t reach me. But I was lucky enough to be able to talk to them in the beginning, and he assured me that everybody was okay. After that it was just really frustrating not knowing and watching the news and hoping. Now I just want to do whatever I can to help everybody.”

Haynes will be bringing some new music to Soulshine. Million Voices Whisper is the guitarist’s first solo outing since 2015’s Ashes & Dust (a collaboration with Railroad Earth) and sports 11 tracks, with four more songs on the deluxe edition. It was produced by Haynes and features a reunion with Allman Brothers Band cohort Derek Trucks on four tracks, as well as Lukas Nelson and Jamey Johnson on “Day of Reckoning” — which includes a second version on the deluxe edition that opens with the trio harmonizing on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Find the Cost of Freedom.” He also co-wrote “Smooth Sailing” with Stax legend Booker T. Jones.

The set also marks the recording debut of the latest Warren Haynes Band lineup, which features John Medeski on keyboards, bassist Kevin Scott from Haynes’ Gov’t Mule and Dirty Dozen Brass Band drummer Terrence Higgins.

“In the beginning of the process all the songs kinda had a Muscle Shoals sort of feel,” recalls Haynes, referencing the Alabama home of the legendary FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios where dozens of soul and rock classics were recorded. “So it started out to be that kind of record, but then, as I continued writing they all started drifting into their own directions but still seemed to hang together. Once I have a group of songs that seem to work together, that usually tells me it’s time to make a record.”

Million Voices Whisper‘s starting point, however, was “Real Real Love,” a song Haynes began writing with Gregg Allman before his death in 2017. “I had a copy of his lyric, which was incomplete, so I finished the lyric, and to my knowledge there was no music or demo or recording of it,” Haynes says. “So I wrote music for it but I wrote it in a way that would reflect as much of the way (Allman) would have written it as I could.” Once that was done Haynes reached out to Trucks in order to bring the Allman Brothers flavor to the recording. That led to a writing session at Trucks’ farm near Macon, Ga., which yielded the Million Voices Whisper tracks “These Changes, “Hall of Future Saints” and “Back Where I Started,” all of which Trucks played on.

“It was great, the first time the two of us had collaborated in the studio like that in a long time,” says Haynes, adding that there may be more to hear from the duo in the future — including, of course, the Soulshine benefit. “There’s definitely talk about it. We’ll see where it all goes. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we really enjoy it when it happens, and writing for those three days and then being together in the studio for my record was a blast. There’s just something uncanny about the way the two of us work together. It’s comes about very easily.”

The Haynes-Trucks tandem, meanwhile, is also represented on the new release of the Allman Brothers’ final concert from Oct. 28, 2014 at the Beacon Theatre in New York. “That was a fantastic show,” Haynes says of the epic 29-song performance. “I have amazing memories of everybody really rising to the occasion and us going out on a high note. And the new mix sounds really great. I’m glad people are getting to hear it.”

Haynes is looking to play some shows with his band to support Million Voices Whisper, including more Dream and Songs Symphonic Experience dates with orchestras — and the release of a Don Was-produced album that was recorded with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra prior to the pandemic. For now, however, Haynes has a solo in-store appearance set for Nov. 2 at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, N.Y., with his band and Gov’t Mule set to play at the Island Exodus 15 festival during January in Jamaica.
He’s also leaning into a big 2025 with Gov’t Mule, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the group’s debut album. The celebration, he says, will include “a bunch of cool, special shows” as well as releasing unheard material from the band’s archives.

Rather than feeling pulled by those different concerns, however, Haynes feels inspired. “I look at it as an opportunity to keep from getting stagnated,” he explains. “Doing all these different things keeps me motivated and inspired. I feel like if I only did one thing all the time I’d get sick of it and burned out much more easily. This way, with my solo stuff, the Mule, everything else, it keeps me really excited and really engaged.”