Warren Haynes has been in the business of rock & roll for a long time. His band, Gov’t Mule, has toured since 1994, and Warren has been part of many legendary lineups including 25 years on lead guitar with the Allman Brothers Band, tours & appearances with The Dead, Phil Lesh & Friends, Dave Matthews Band, and many more.
On January 30th, 2026, Warren Haynes released a re-mixed and re-mastered version of his debut solo album,Tales of Ordinary Madness (1993). The album first came out while Haynes was touring with the Allman Brothers Band.
“I have always wanted to remix this album,” Haynes explains. “Records in the 80s and early 90s had a lot of reverb, a lot of EQ and a lot of processing. I always wanted to hear how it would sound with a more organic mix.”
Warren says this has been on his mind for years, and then he ran into Missi Callazzo of Megaforce Records, where the album was initially released. Missi was was thinking the same thing, and soon the project was set in motion, with Jim Scott re-mixing and Greg Calbi re-mastering.
“The new mix sounds much more like what I envisioned when we were recording the record,” Warren says. “It’s not a drastic change. It’s just drier and a little more organic sounding.”
The album also includes a bonus track, “Tear Me Down,” that was recorded during the original sessions, but didn’t make the original release.
Warren Haynes – “Tear Me Down” (2025)
Haynes is currently working through the Winter of Warren solo tour honoring the 30th anniversary release. Gov’t Mule will hit the road this spring and summer with stops all over the United States, including an April 10th stop at The Refinery in Charleston.
Referring to his solo shows, Warren explains: “It’s more about the songs and my voice. Featuring another side of me that people don’t get to experience very often. I don’t get to do it nearly enough, but when I do, I really enjoy it a lot.”
On Improvisational Music
Warren Haynes is a man who lives for the music, whether it is solo or with a band. He believes that the improvisational path he has chosen offers a unique reward for both the player and the audience.
“There’s something amazingly gratifying about being able to improvise with fellow musicians that you love and respect,” Warren says. “When you add the audience into that picture, it becomes this inexplicable thing that can only happen on stage with the right audience. The band is generating energy, giving it to the crowd, the crowd’s giving it back to the band. It pushes the music to heights that the music would not be capable of without that combination, without a wonderful audience, which we are very fortunate to have.”
Warren clarifies that the improvisational reward can also occur in the studio, but it is more difficult. When it happens on a live stage, it surpasses the studio reward.
“I’m grateful to have that sort of improvisation in my life,” he says. “I chose that path decades ago, and actually early on in my trajectory. But it was the right one for me, and it’s just so gratifying. Improvisation is momentary composition. When you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing musicians, as I am, the sky is the limit. It never gets old. There’s always something inspiring and exciting taking place up there to jump on.”
He looks back on the people he’s shared the stage with over the years, many of whom are no longer with us.
“Playing for 25 years with the Allman Brothers was unbelievable. My experience playing live with Phil Lesh & Friends, and eventually what we called The Dead. I did two tours with those guys,” Warren recalls. “To be on the inside of that, to be brought into it and included in what makes that tick. It is pretty amazing. I’ve learned something from every situation and try to take that forward with me and honor all the amazing people that I’ve played with that are no longer here. It’s kind of built into the role. I think if you’re going to use this approach to music, it has to be done that way.”
Warren and his fellow improvisational musicians are part of a time-honored tradition, sharing the spirit of the music, and helping people understand themselves and the world around them.
“Every generation takes what they learned and carries it forward and reinvents it and reinterprets it,” Warren continues, “and turns a whole new generation on in the process. It’s amazing to see. We’re out there playing and doing what we’ve always done, and there are people that weren’t born when the original versions were being made. Yet that music connects with them in an uncanny way that is completely different from the music of their generation.”
He also reflects on the shift that he noticed in popular music, and what is prioritized by today’s artists versus the artists of his time.
“When I was growing up, musicians and artists and bands tried to create timeless music,” Warren says. “Somewhere along the line, that changed and the trend seemed to defer to timeliness and taking advantage of what was going on in the current moment. But all the music that I love was made with the intent of living a hundred years later.”
Catch Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule on the road this year to partake in the tradition of sharing beautiful, timeless music as a community. See full tour dates below.
Warren Haynes Tour Dates
Warren Haynes Solo
February 12 – Grass Valley, CA @ The Center for the Arts – SOLD OUT
February 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore – SOLD OUT
February 14 – Napa, CA @ Uptown Theatre Napa – Low Ticket Warning
February 15 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre for the Performing
February 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Blue Note Los Angeles (2 shows) – Low Ticket Warning
February 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Blue Note Los Angeles (2 shows)
February 20 – Santa Fe, NM @ Lensic Performing Arts Center
February 22 – Austin, TX @ The Paramount Theatre
February 23 – Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater – SOLD OUT
February 24 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater – SOLD OUT
February 26 – Pelham, TN @ The Caverns (Standing Room Only + PBS TV Taping)
Warren Haynes Band
February 27 – Live Oak, FL @ Suwannee Amp Jam #2 ^
March 1 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
March 3 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center
March 4 – Wilkes-Barre, PA @ F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
March 6 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
March 7 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
Gov’t Mule
March 27 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
April 7 – Shipshewana, IN @ Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
April 8 – Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
April 10 – Charleston, SC @ The Refinery
April 11 – Miramar Beach, FL – Joe Bonamassa’s Sound Wave Beach Weekend – SOLD OUT^
April 12 – Tampa, FL @ Gasparilla Music Festival ^
Warren Haynes Band Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience
April 30 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
Gov’t Mule
May 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
July 25 – Patchogue, NY @ Great South Bay Music Festival ^
Gov’t Mule co-headlining with Joe Bonamassa
July 29 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap
July 31 – Bangor, ME @ Maine Savings Amphitheatre
August 1 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
August 8 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Pavilion
August 9 – Youngstown, OH @ Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre
August 14 – Interlochen, MI @ Kresge Auditorium
August 15 – Welch, MN @ Treasure Island Resort & Casino
August 16 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinewood Bowl
^ indicates festival appearance