Sitting in the depths of the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, Robert DeLeo is gearing up to hit the stage for Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam. Bassist for grunge-rock alumni Stone Temple Pilots, DeLeo and his bandmates are eager to make their debut at the annual holiday gathering in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“Asheville is such a beautiful city and we love it here,” DeLeo tells Rolling Stone backstage. “So, for [Warren] to put this on, and for us to be here? It’s an honor.”
After pausing last year due to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene — which tore through Asheville and resulted in 108 deaths and $60 billion in damages in just Western North Carolina — Christmas Jam returned as a much-needed symbol of normalcy.
“I think this one is probably the most meaningful,” Haynes says. “[With] everyone having gone through what this town and this part of the world went through, it’s really emotional. And it feels great to be doing it again for so many reasons — the big one being the community.”
For its 33rd installment, Christmas Jam also invited Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, MJ Lenderman & the Wind, Maggie Rose, and Edwin McCain, among others. Beside the Warren Haynes & Friends set, which offered an all-star cast (Duane Trucks, Jeff Sipe, Kevin Scott, to name a few), there was also a tribute to the late Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead.
“It just keeps gaining steam,” Haynes says about the Jam’s growth throughout the decades. “It’s due to the musicians, the bands, and the artists that have supported it through the years, and continue to support it.”
Alongside its longtime charitable partner, the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, Christmas Jam also tapped local nonprofit BeLoved Asheville to be a co-beneficiary of the event. To note, BeLoved Asheville was a critical boots-on-the-ground operation following Hurricane Helene, bringing much-needed supplies and resources to Asheville and surrounding mountain towns.
“When you see something as tragic as what happened here, you’re instantly thinking, ‘How can I help?’” DeLeo says of accepting Haynes’ invitation. (All acts performing at Christmas Jam donate their time for the charity.)
Heading into the weekend, there was an array of Friday pre-parties around Asheville. A fiery live music bastion, the city goes into overdrive when Haynes returns to town this time of the year, especially at the One Stop on College Street, which featured Gill Francis & Friends. “[Christmas Jam] has become the ultimate family reunion for musicians in town,” Francis says.
Around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, the Orange Peel’s “Pre-Jam” show was in full swing, with cosmic-country guitar wizard Daniel Donato chugging along with Gov’t Mule bassist Kevin Scott and Duane Trucks on drums. Dubbed “Triple Wide,” the impromptu power trio shredded through renditions of “New Minglewood Blues,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Big River.”
“This is a beautiful cause, and with so many beautiful memories through the years,” Trucks says of his appearances at Christmas Jam, most notably with the late Col. Bruce Hampton in 2009. “Here, it’s all about these once-in-a-lifetime moments. If Warren asks, I’m there, and that’s always been the vibe.”
“Christmas Jam isan event that is transformative for everyone involved, both on and off the stage,” Donato says.
On Saturday afternoon, “Christmas Jam by Day” overtook the Asheville Music Hall, One Stop, and Jack of the Wood, where a slew of hometown acts including Red Clay Revival, the Snozzberries, and Nick Mac & the Noise, jumped behind the microphone as a warmup for the main event. A Celtic pub on Patton Avenue, Jack of the Wood is an anchor point for Christmas Jam, hosting the “Songwriters in the Round” set and featuring local artists like Hannah Kaminer, Kevin Smith, Melissa McKinney, and Ashley Heath.
Heath is a native of nearby Marshall that was obliterated during Helene when the French Broad River buffering the community bulldozed downtown. “I watched my hometown get hit hard, and I’ve seen resilience and heart that came out of it,” she says. “We’re all collectively taking a deep breath, remembering what we’ve lost, celebrating what we still have, and creating new memories together through music and tradition.”
By 7 p.m. Saturday, the house lights finally dimmed at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center and Christmas Jam was under way. The main festivities kicked off with a rollicking set by Donato, followed by Lenderman and his indie-rock stylings, along with more than a few Haynes cameos.
In the most hard-charging set of the night, Stone Temple Pilots, with vocalist Jeff Gutt, roared onto the stage and blasted through a 50-minute set of timeless hits: “Wicked Garden,” “Dead and Bloated,” “Vasoline,” and “Big Bang Baby,” among then.
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the death of STP’s original frontman Scott Weiland, who played one of his final performances in Asheville. The band recently crossed the 35-year mark as a group. “I always believed in the power of songs. That’s really what my attention always was,” DeLeo says. “These songs have lasted this long and it really, honestly, blows me away. It’s powerful and humbling when you’re up there onstage and for people to be singing [the songs] back to you.”
Immediately following their set, STP reappeared on the small side stage with Haynes and launched into covers of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” and Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood,” the latter melody an ode to Steve Cropper who co-wrote the tune and died on Dec. 3.
The Lesh tribute, meanwhile, featured Lesh’s son, Grahame Lesh, alongside Jason Crosby, John Molo, and Haynes. Guest vocalist Maggie Rose soared during a heartfelt take on the Dead’s “Sugaree.” “It’s important to remove ourselves from the center of our art and realize that it’s all part of a bigger tapestry that connects us to one another,” Rose says. “The Dead have done that immaculately.”
Rose also made an appearance during the “Warren & Friends” set, providing background vocals alongside singer-songwriter Edwin McCain in “River’s Gonna Rise.” For McCain, Christmas Jam is a homecoming of sorts. Based just down the mountain in Greenville, South Carolina, McCain has been a consistent performer at the gathering, going all the way back to the 1990s when it was held at the long gone Be Here Now rock club on Biltmore Avenue.
“It’s a testament to Warren and all the people that love him,” McCain says. “He has a personal connection with everybody that plays here. It’s the outpouring of grace and honor toward somebody we’ve all looked up from the very beginning.”
But this year, the Christmas Jam was also a chance to heal.
“We’ve all been trauma-bonding since Helene,” says Ethan Heller, guitarist in the Snozzberries. “Even one year later, we’re still reeling from what we all went through, so getting together this year meant the world. It’s the big bear hug we all needed.”