Warren Haynes and guests

As the title suggests, this is the 20th Benefit concert that Warren Haynes has hosted in his hometown of Asheville North Carolina, the first being back in 1988 and originally labelled the ‘Christmas Jam’. It has always been about bringing local musicians together and raising funds for the local community, this time raising over $2.8 million for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and the construction of over 50 homes in the region. Reflecting on its growth, Haynes notes, “As an Ashevillean, it's heartening to see the progress Asheville has witnessed over these three decades. In many ways, Christmas Jam mirrors this city's vibrant spirit."

The album features a host of local artists and a ton of recognized stars such as Dave Grohl, Eric Church, Joe Bonamassa, Jim James, Gov’t Mule, Grace Potter, and Mike Gordon and was culled from the December 2018 shows (after which they took a break, only to be hit by Covid).
Other featured artists on the set include Marco Benevento, Jamey Johnson, Edwin McCain, Kevn Kinney, Tyler Ramsey, Scott Murawski, and Ron Holloway, along with Machan Taylor, Mini Carlsson, Mike Barnes, and Ray Sisk sitting in with Gov’t Mule and solo performances from Haynes.

To a certain extent, it is a typical benefit gig. Very little real flow as musicians and bands change every few minutes and try to outdo each other at every turn. But Haynes has managed to produce an artefact that does have the feel of a planned concert and there are some terrific performances.
Dave Grohl, playing his mammoth ‘Play’ live onstage for the first time, produces an immense item that is worth the cost of the album on its own, a delicious and raw version of ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Eric Church’s brilliant version of ‘The Weight’. Joe Bonamassa’s ‘I Can’t Quit You Babe’ sounding hard and edgy is terrific, and Gov’t Mule lay down a stunning ‘Million Miles From Yesterday’, featuring Machan Taylor & Mini Carlsson.
My personal favourite is ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ which features Dave Grohl and has all the venom and spite of the original (I’d love to see Neil Young jamming with Warren Haynes).
The whole thing closes on a version of ‘Comfortably Numb’.

Loads of gems to pick from and well worth some deep investigation.