Warren Haynes announces “Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey”

Warren Haynes has announced the release of his new live album, Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey, arriving September 18 via Evil Teen Records in the U.S. and Provogue/Artone Label Group in Europe. Along with the announcement, Haynes has released “Raven Black Night (Live),” the latest preview from the 16-track collection.

Originally appearing on Gov’t Mule’s 1998 sophomore album Dose, “Raven Black Night” has been reimagined with full orchestral backing, transforming the stripped-down original into an expansive symphonic performance.

“I had come up with this arrangement that went from ‘Raven Black Night’ into ‘Silent Scream Pt. 2’ and back into ‘Raven Black Night’,” shares Haynes. “The way those two things married together is really cool, and the way the orchestra accepted that challenge was really amazing. I think the way those two songs work together kind of lend themselves to orchestration, in some ways, more than anything else on this recording. They sound like the orchestration completes the thought, like the orchestration sounds like part of the composition, which is a tall order and very high praise indeed. I love the arrangement for the piece and really enjoyed singing ‘Raven Black Night’ in that light, because the original recording had no drums and was very stripped-down. It had a little percussion thing in the middle and no bass. Whereas this arrangement is just full-bodied, full orchestration – the opposite of the original – and it really takes it to a place that completes it and turns it into another thing.”

Co-produced by Don Was and Haynes, Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey was recorded in 2019 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Haynes’ hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. The performance featured Haynes alongside the 64-piece Asheville Symphony Orchestra and an all-star backing band that included Oteil Burbridge on bass, John Medeski on organ and keyboards, Jeff Sipe on drums, Greg Osby on saxophone, and background vocalists Edwin McCain and Jasmine Muhammad.

The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and spans Haynes’ more than three decades of music, featuring orchestral reinterpretations of material from Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers Band, The Dead, his solo catalog, and more. Orchestral arrangements were created by David Campbell, Jim Gray, Tom Matta, Vince Mendoza, Sean O’Loughlin, and Chris Walden.

“Raven Black Night (Live)” follows the previously released orchestral versions of the Grateful Dead classic “Shakedown Street” and the Gov’t Mule favorite “Banks of the Deep End.”

Since debuting in Asheville in 2019, the Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience has expanded into a recurring concert event, with performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and in cities including New Orleans, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. The next performances are scheduled for March 11-12, 2027, at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Before then, Haynes will return to the road with Gov’t Mule. The band’s Kicking In Your Stall Tour begins July 22 and runs through August 23, including nine co-headlining performances with Joe Bonamassa. Gov’t Mule will then launch the Dreaming The Same Dream Tour with Ziggy Marley on September 23, featuring guest DJ YOLA.

Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey Track Listing

1. Dreams & Songs (Part 1)
2. Dreams
3. Banks Of The Deep End
4. Spots of Time
5. Broken Promised Land
6. Thorazine Shuffle
7. It Makes No Difference
8. Terrapin Station > Slipknot! > Terrapin Station
9. Raven Black Night > Silent Scream > Raven Black Night
10. Just Another Rider
11. Black Peter
12. Instrumental Illness
13. One
14. Shakedown Street
15. Whipping Post
16. Dreams & Songs (Reprise)