Photograph by Derek Meade

Few musicians know how to give back quite like Warren Haynes. For years, the virtuoso guitarist/singer/songwriter has lent his talents to no less than the Allman Brothers and the Dead while maintaining his own band, Gov’t Mule, and a solo career. This fall, Gov’t Mule released their tenth studio album, Shout!, which Haynes believes to be the best record he’s ever made. “It’s a culmination of everything that’s lead up to this moment,” Haynes said. “We captured ourselves at our best.” Haynes has always maintained that each record should be different than the one before, and Shout! does break new ground, including both a full disc of new Mule songs and a second disc of those same songs performed by stars ranging from Dr. John to Grace Potter to Elvis Costello. “Elvis Costello, singing ‘Funny Little Tragedy,’ sounds like he was meant to sing that song, and I’m so thankful that he did,” Haynes said. With touring for the album now underway, Mule rolls onward. “The band’s in a really good place right now,” Haynes said. “With some bands, it’s just a job. It’s not that way with us.”

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