Warren Haynes Discusses Working with Lukas Nelson and Jamey Johnson on “Day of Reckoning” (Exclusive)

Warren Haynes released “Day of Reckoning” as the second single from his latest solo album Million Voices Whisper. The album gets its name from a line in the song. At the same time, the track is the only one on the album to feature guest vocalists. Jamey Johnson and Lukas Nelson joined Haynes for the cut.

“Day of Reckoning” is both timely and timeless. While the song harkens back to the ‘60s and ‘70s, the message is still poignant today. In press materials, Haynes said the song was “Written about equality and civil rights in a modern light and can apply to many demographics. ‘It’s never too late to be free.’”

[RELATED: Warren Haynes on His Long-Awaited Solo Album, Old-School Creative Process, and Working With Jamey Johnson and Lukas Nelson (Exclusive)]

Last month, Haynes sat down with American Songwriter to talk about Million Voices Whisper. During the conversation, they talked about this creative process, taking time to create solo work, and more. He also opened up about working with Nelson and Johnson for “Day of Reckoning.”

Warren Haynes on Working with Lukas Nelson and Jamey Johnson on “Day of Reckoning”

“The idea to get the three of us together was born out of us working together on The Last Waltz Tour a few years back. We all loved the way our voices blended together with Jamey on the bottom and me in the middle and Lukas on the top,” Haynes recalled. “I’ve wanted to capture that to the extent of even hinting around at maybe the three of us doing a record together if we could all muster up the time,” he added. So, this collaboration has been brewing since sometime in 2019.

“After I had written ‘Day of Reckoning’ I showed it to Lukas and he had some great ideas about how to further it. He started the concept of singing it in a round which is a really cool idea. Then, Jamey started answering with this low gospel thing and it dawned on me that that song would be perfect for the three of us to sing together. So, I wanted to make that happen. Then, of course, Lukas ended up playing some fantastic guitar as well.”

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