Today (October 29), Warren Haynes announced Soulshine, a benefit concert to aid recovery efforts in Western North Carolina and Florida in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The all-star show will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, November 14. The lineup features The Warren Haynes Band, Dave Matthews Band, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, and Goose. Special guests will include Trey Anastasio, Mavis Staples, Robert Randolph, Joe Russo, Trombone Shorty, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks.
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This afternoon, Haynes sat down with American Songwriter to talk about Soulshine. During the conversation, he revealed why the cause is important to him and how the stacked lineup came together.
Warren Haynes on Why Soulshine Is Important to Him
While Warren Haynes has traveled the globe in various bands and projects over the years, his heart lies in North Carolina, where he was born and raised. “I’m from Asheville, North Carolina which got devastated by Hurricane Helene. All my family is still there,” Haynes said. “They’re all safe but most of them relocated. They’re all back in their homes now, their homes are still standing. But my brother’s record store which was in the River Arts District was partially underwater,” he added. “Most of my friends and family had no power or water or cell service for weeks. It’s going to be a rebuilding process there that will take years and all the help that we can provide and encourage.”
Soulshine started to come together after Haynes reached out to another group of musicians who wanted to help those impacted by the hurricanes. “I reached out to the Dave Matthews Band camp once I realized that we weren’t going to be able to do a Christmas Jam in Asheville this year,” Haynes revealed.
“It turns out that a lot of their crew has ties to the Sarasota, Florida area and they were already thinking the same way that I was thinking. So, we just decided to combine forces. All the people that are involved from an artist’s standpoint were so amazing and kind and quick to offer their services that it came together pretty quickly,” Haynes explained. We just had to figure out scheduling and logistics and when and how. I’m extremely grateful that everyone has offered to make this happen,” he added.
The Lineup Came Together Organically
The lineup for the benefit concert is both stacked and diverse, pulling from different corners of the musical tapestry. Warren Haynes revealed that it wasn’t difficult to get everyone on board.
“It came about very organically,” he said of the Soulshine lineup. “There’s people in our circle that were expressing interest in helping out and putting together a lineup that made sense and would make for a big show and appeal to the same kind of music fans but also making it diverse and reach out to a wide variety of music fans,” he explained. “I think the one common thread is that the people that like all of these bands and artists are huge music fans and music is a very big part of their lives. So the show needed to maintain that spirit and I think it does.”
More About Soulshine
Net proceeds from the concert will benefit the Soulshine Concert Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation which will benefit Habitat for Humanity’s 2024 Hurricane Recovery fund and will support a variety of non-profits doing work on the ground in North Carolina as well as Florida.
Presale tickets will be available to the Dave Matthews Band Warehouse Fan Association starting today (October 29). Warren Haynes Band presale tickets will be available on Thursday (October 31). Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday. Head to the Soulshine website to make a donation, purchase tickets, and get more information.
Featured Image courtesy of Warren Haynes
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