Qualla: The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam

The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam: Introduction

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The first one was a reunion at a club called 45 Cherry, December 22, 1988 - a few hometown musicians, a half-empty room, no particular plan. Thirty-five years later Dave Grohl is on stage at the U.S. Cellular Center performing his solo instrumental album *Play* in front of a sold-out Asheville crowd while Eric Church and Joe Bonamassa wait in the wings. Warren Haynes, the Asheville-born Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule guitarist who started the whole thing, is somewhere backstage making sure the night runs late enough. It always runs late. The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam is a tradition now, and Habitat for Humanity has more than 50 houses to show for it.

The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam: How a Hometown Reunion Got Out of Hand

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Haynes grew up in Asheville, learned to play in the Western North Carolina bar circuit, and joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1989 just as the Christmas Jam was getting started. The early years were small - the Thomas Wolf Auditorium, Be Here Now, the kind of venues a Grammy-win...

The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam: The Habitat Math

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Haynes settled on Habitat for Humanity as the primary beneficiary in the late 1980s, after a few years of cycling through Vietnam veterans' charities, AIDS organizations, and homeless relief groups. The choice stuck. More than 50 energy-efficient Habitat houses have been built wi...

The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam: Some Nights to Remember

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The 2008 lineup, for the 20th anniversary, was a kind of greatest-hits exhibition of American rock: The Allman Brothers Band, John Paul Jones, the Derek Trucks Band, Ben Harper, Steve Earle, Johnny Winter, Travis Tritt, Joan Osborne. The 2013 silver anniversary brought Gregg Allm...

The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam: Christmas Jam by Day

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The main event is only part of it. "Xmas Jam by Day" spreads across Asheville's smaller venues in the daylight hours - The Orange Peel, Salvage Station, neighborhood bars and listening rooms - featuring collaborations between visiting headliners and Asheville's deep local talent ...

The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam: The Asheville Thing

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

What's striking about the Christmas Jam isn't just the lineup or the longevity. It's how rooted it is. Haynes could have moved this thing to Atlanta or New York and tripled the gate. He didn't. The show stays at the U.S. Cellular Center, at 87 Haywood Street, half a mile from whe...