Having logged miles touring with the Allman Brothers Band, and Phil Lesh and Friends, Warren Haynes will head out on the road this fall with Gov't Mule to break in an unannounced new bassist on the Rebirth of the Mule Tour. The new bass player will permanently fill the shoes of Allen Woody, who died of a heart ailment in August 2000.

Haynes had forged ahead with the Mule, recording two albums (released as The Deep End series) and playing sporadic dates with a rotating entourage of all-star bass players. One of those shows will be released on CD and DVD as The Deepest End on October 7th, with Jason Newsted, Les Claypool and Mike Gordon among the guest bassists. "I'm proud of the way it turned out," Haynes told Rolling Stone of the albums honoring his former bandmate. "It's not a tribute in the normal sense of the word, because it was all new material. But it's still tribute to Allen Woody."

The tour proper will launch on October 10th in Philadelphia, but not before Gov't Mule play three dates opening for Dave Matthews next week, followed by a few festival stops (with the Meters' George Porter Jr. filling in on bass) and two Haynes solo gigs in August. The solo performances will give Haynes the opportunity to showcase his next studio album, a solo acoustic release, due early next year. A live five-song set, Lone EP, was released this summer.

Gov't Mule tour dates:

8/13: Jackson, WY, Mangy Moose (Haynes solo)
8/15: Lyons, CO, Rocky Mountain Folk Fest (Haynes solo)
8/16: Terra Alta, WV, Sunshine Daydream Fest
8/17: Great Barrington, MA, Berkfest
8/23: Washington, DC, Live on Penn
8/30: Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheater
8/31: Santa Fe, NM, JW Eaves Ranch
10/10: Philadelphia, Electric Factory
10/11: Kingston, NY, Ulster Performing Arts Center
10/12: Portland, ME, State Theater
10/15: Buffalo, SUNY Center for the Arts
10/16: Syracuse, Landmark Theater
10/17: Boston, Orpheum
10/18: Toronto, Danforth Music Hall
10/19: Pittsburgh, Metropol
10/24-25: Chicago, Vic Theater
10/26: Minneapolis, Pantages Theater
10/31: New Orleans, Saenger Theater
11/7: Atlanta, Tabernacle
11/8: Birmingham, AL, Alabama Theater
11/9: Nashville, Ryman Auditorium
12/29-31: New York, Beacon Theater

ANDREW DANSBY
(July 18, 2003)