Named one of the 10 Best Concerts by The London Times, Warren Haynes Presents: The Christmas Jam will take place for the 18th consecutive year in Haynes' hometown of Asheville, NC on Saturday December 16th at The Asheville Civic Center.

For 18 years, Haynes has coordinated the Warren Haynes Annual Christmas Jam. Like a family reunion, the annual, one-of-a-kind, semi-structured marathon of music brings together friends both old and new, hand-picked by Haynes, on stage and in the sold out audience of 7200 people at the Civic Center Arena in Asheville, N.C.

The show thrives on the generous support of volunteer talent and behind-the-scenes personnel with the net proceeds going to charity. In the formative years of The Christmas Jam, donations were made to a different charity each year, but in 1998 Haynes and his wife Stefani Scamardo, with whom he co-produces the event each year, decided on Habitat for Humanity as the event's beneficiary.

Both Habitat and the city of Asheville have welcomed Warren with open arms and have publicly recognized him for the money and awareness he has brought to each. "As always," said Lew Kraus, Director of the Asheville Habitat for Humanity Chapter, "we are very grateful for Warren's extraordinary generosity." The organization recently dedicated an entire sub-community of its Enka Village for the houses The Christmas Jam's donations help build. Former Mayor Charles Worley gave Warren the key to the city in 2002 and declared December 21st Warren Haynes Day in 2003. In 2004, the Mayor simply thanked Warren for all of his contributions to Asheville because he "has no honor left to bestow upon him."

This year the event will be held again at the Asheville Civic Center Arena, Saturday, December 16 at 7:00PM. WNCW's Pre-Jam Jam Broadcast Live is on Friday, December, 15.

Past Performers Include: The Allman Brothers Band, Alvin Youngblood Heart, Blues Traveler, Bob Weir, Derek Trucks Band, DJ Logic, Drive By Truckers' Paterson Hood and Jason Isbell, Edwin McCain, Electric Hot Tuna, Galactic, John Hiatt & The Goners, Bill Kreutzmann, Ray LaMontagne, Living Colour, Edwin McCain, John Medeski, moe., Ivan Neville, Neville Brothers, North Mississippi All-Stars, Phil Lesh and Friends, Phish's Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, Robert Randolph and The Family Band, Sam Bush, John Scofield, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Sonny Landreth, String Cheese Incident's Michael Kang, Marty Stuart, Susan Tedeschi, and Widespread Panic's John Bell, Dave Schools, John (JoJo) Herman & Todd Nance.

Haynes, who opens each Xmas Jam with a brief solo performance, will perform with his band Gov't Mule, and, of course, join many of the artists for spontaneous collaborations. But the impact goes far beyond the entertainment.

"Christmas Jam started 18 years ago as an opportunity for local musicians to jam at the one time of year they were all in town at the same time. Back then, we gave the money to whatever charity we felt like. As the event grew and we became aware of Habitat For Humanity, we settled on them because we believe in the organization and know the money goes where its supposed to. When your work is music, its easy and fun to give back."