Warren Haynes is one of the most prolific guitarists and songwriters of our time. After joining The Allman Brothers Band in 1989 at the request of Dickey Betts, Haynes formed Gov’t Mule with bassist Allen Woody and drummer Matt Abts as a side project in 1994. Over 20 years later, Mule is an enduring rock ’n’ roll powerhouse with a dedicated fanbase, propelled ever forward by Haynes’ fiery playing, soulful vocal and down-home lyricism. With Matt Abts on drums, Danny Louis on keys, and Jorgen Carlsson on bass, Mule released its 10th studio album earlier this summer, Revolution Come…Revolution Go. It’s worth noting that the band began recording this disc on election day.
“I think the main message, which is somewhat tongue-in-cheek in the title track, ‘Revolution Come…Revolution Go,’ is really talking about nothing getting done, you know,” Haynes says. “You get one administration that comes in and does as much as they can and then the next administration comes in and tries to negate everything that the previous administration did and it just, for people, sometimes, it feels like we’re just spinning our wheels.”
The follow-up to 2013’s Shout is at once a continuation and a departure for the band.
“We try to make each record different from the one before and we like to keep one foot in the past as far as, you know, never losing sight of our roots, but we also like for each record to explore new directions,” explains Haynes. “I think we were lucky when we were making this record that we had a lot of time apart and it really helped us know what kind of record we wanted to make and allows a lot of time in other situations that would kind of lend fresh energy to Gov’t Mule.”
Touring behind Revolution Come…Revolution Go, Haynes and crew are stopping at LOCKN’ Music Festival and will share the stage with special guest Ann Wilson of Heart. Haynes says the idea to incorporate Wilson grew out of the inherent spirit of LOCKN’.
“At LOCKN’, there’s always encouragement to kind of merge two worlds together that have never performed together before,” he says. “And so we were kicking around ideas and Ann’s name came up and I said, ‘Yeah, that would be cool,’ and so we found ourselves on the phone talking together and it seemed like a lot of fun.”