Warren Haynes Renews Covers of the Grateful Dead and Tom Petty in Dallas
Warren Haynes, photo by Dino Perrucci
Over the past two weeks, Warren Haynes’ Winter of Warren solo tour has seen the singer-songwriter and guitarist return to the basics and explore the far reaches of his catalog. In a march down the West Coast and into Texas, Haynes has made headlines with his stripped-down presentations of old independent and Gov’t Mule originals, as well as an ever-expanding repertoire of covers that pay tribute to the inspirations of his deep-rooted Southern-rock sound. Last night’s performance in Dallas maintained the trend with another packed two-set staging, featuring a few unexpected track resurrections.
Haynes stepped into the spotlight at Dallas’ Kessler Theater on Monday with “Dreams & Songs,” a standout from Gov’t Mule’s 2017 project, Revolution Come…Revolution Go, that has seen renewed attention on this run. The artist continued with his solo staple “Blue Maiden’s Tale” and a cover of Van Morrison’s “Ballerina” before looking back on his time in Phil Lesh & Friends with “The Real Thing.” The Gov’t Mule rarity “Frozen Fear” and Tracy Chapman’s classic “For My Lover” paved the way to the Grateful Dead’s “Comes a Time,” unearthed for his 11th version to date and first since July 2021. To skid into the set-break, Haynes lit up a slow-burning “Blues Before Sunrise,” his second take on the Leroy Carr standard and first since June 2021.
Haynes’ second set commenced with “Patchwork Quilt,” another Phil Lesh & Friends fan-favorite that’s remained a regular inclusion in his setlists through the years. Shortly afterwards, the artist veered into Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ smash “Southern Accents” for the first time since March 2022, then offered up his first-ever solo treatment of the Gov’t Mule deep cut “Which Way Do We Run?” More reliable crowd pleasers like “Go Down Swinging,” Dennis Robbins’ “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House” and Gov’t Mule’s “Me Seperate reality” preceded a shining set-closer of “Soulshine,” followed by an impactful encore of George Harrison’s “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”
Haynes will move on to Houston tonight for the penultimate performance in his solo tour, then finally conclude the series with a finale at The Caverns in Pelham, Tenn. on Friday. Find tickets and more information on his upcoming full-band run at warrenhaynes.net.
