Warren Haynes has made a career of defying expectations. For more than three decades, this Grammy-winning US bandleader and roots master has outrun genre, classification and comfort zone, journeying between the acclaimed solo work with his own name on the marquee, his storied jam-band Gov’t Mule, and America’s fabled rock ‘n’ roll institutions from the Allman Brothers Band to the Grateful Dead.


To represent this lifetime of roots and branches in a single project, while tearing down and reimagining his songbook with bold orchestral arrangements, acknowledges Haynes, was a daunting prospect that nonetheless exerted an irresistible pull. Now, the resulting live album – Dreams & Songs, released September 18 2026 – is a living document of 2019’s twin concerts at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in the bandleader’s hometown of Asheville, NC, with a visceral mix by the legendary Bob Clearmountain capturing the thrilling collision between Haynes’ lineup of seasoned rock ‘n’ roll improvisers and the 64-piece Asheville Symphony Orchestra.


“The initial concept was to include Mule songs, Allmans songs, songs from my solo projects, Grateful Dead songs, and even a cover or two that I have been associated with through the years,” explains Haynes, who co-produced the album alongside the great Don Was. “I wanted this record to reflect what I've been up to these last 30-odd years, but also represented in a way that's completely unique.”


For Haynes, Dreams & Songs is both a homecoming and a step into the unknown. The roars that welcome him to the stage at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium – purposefully bottled by Clearmountain for an added hit of atmosphere – unmistakably herald the return of a local hero. It was at this same venue, after all, that Haynes witnessed his formative shows. “When I was growing up, it was the biggest arena in town. So to do it in that room was eerily special.”