Photo Credit: David Simchock
Last night, Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam returned to Harrah’s Cherokee Center in the bandleader’s hometown of Asheville, N.C. The charitable evening, which benefited Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and BeLoved Asheville, featured a steady stream of music industry heavy hitters, beginning with husband and wife duo Scott Metzger and Katie Jacoby, who opened up the night. Then, music continued with sets led by Dinosaur Jr., Brothers Osborne, Gov’t Mule, Tyler Childers and Phil Lesh & Friends.
The event got underway after an intimate acoustic display carried out by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist, Metzger, and violinist, Jacoby. The duo’s set included a take on Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard.” In continuation of the event, Dinosaur Jr. took the fabled stage and dug into their set, including takes on “The Lung” and the recently cut “Garden.” The Massachusetts band’s frame also featured run-throughs of “Been There All the Time,” “Get Me” and “Start Choppin’.”
Brothers Osborne’s frame came after Dinosaur Jr. The Old Line State siblings kicked things off with “Skeletons,” followed by “Headstones” and “Shoot Me Straight.” Then, the duo delivered a take on “I’m Not For Everyone” off their 2020 EMI release. The set kept rolling with “Weed, Whiskey, Willie,” which came before “Dead Man’s Curve” and “Stay A Little Longer” from 2016’s Pawn Shop album. For the last number for their set, the Brothers Osborne landed on “It Ain’t My Fault.”
The event’s host took the stage next with his Gov’t Mule collaborators, sans Danny Louis who sat out the show. For their highly anticipated Christmas Jam performance, the group kicked it off with “Mule” followed by “Temporary Saint.” Then the band’s first guest, Rob Barraco, stepped on stage to assist the musicians on “Banks of the Deep End.” Barraco stuck around for the following number, which saw additional accompaniment by Audley Freed, who helped out on a cover of The Black Crowes’ “Sometimes Salvation.” Next, the duo stuck to the stage for the Heavy Load Blues’ track, “Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City.”
Freed left before the start of the following number, leaving room for Gov’t Mule to welcome Mike Barnes, George Porter Jr. and Jeff Stipe, who, along with Barraco, dug into a cover of Little Feat’s “Sailing Shoes.” Next came The Meter’s original “Hey Pocky A-Way,” followed by a take on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young original “Almost Cut My Hair,” which also saw Jacoby return to the stage and add to the number. Then, the Haynes-led ensemble ripped into The Allman Brothers Band’s “Blue Sky” to end their frame of music.
Tyler Childers’ set followed Gov’t Mule and began with the original “Country Squire” before the artist ran through a take on “Tom Turkey” and “Honky Tonk Flame.” Then, Childers delivered a cover of Kenny Rogers & The First Edition’s “Tulsa Turnaround,” before unleashing a selection of self-written songs. Another cover came before the final tune and featured assistance from the event’s host, Haynes, during a take on “Trudy” by the Charlie Daniels Band.
For the next display of the evening, Grateful Dead founding bassist Phil Lesh appeared alongside Haynes, Barraco, John Scofield and John Molo for a set steeped in classic numbers plucked from the great American songbook. The frame began with a cover of “In the Midnight Hour,” followed by “Mason’s Children” and “Brown-Eyed Women.” Next, the ensemble took on fan favorite “Shakedown Street” ahead of The Beatles’ “I am The Walrus.” To follow they performed a take on Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew,” before returning to the Dead’s catalog with “Eyes of the World.” Next up was a cover of Miles Davis’ “So What,” which came before a classic pairing of “Help on the Way” into “Slipknot!”
The night’s final frame continued with a classic Grateful Dead paring of “Lady with a Fan” into “Terrapin Station.” Then, for the last song of the 2023 Christmas Jam, the group of highly regarded artists landed on the Lesh-penned “Box of Rain” from the seminal album American Beauty to cap the charitable evening in Asheville, N.C.
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