LOS ANGELES (AP) – Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks are leaving the Allman Brothers Band at the end of the year.
A statement released by the band’s spokeswomen Wednesday said the guitarists are leaving the legendary rock band to spend more time with their families and work on their other musical projects.
Haynes joined the group in 1989, and Trucks became a member in 1999.
“While I’ve shared many magical moments on stage with the Allman Brothers Band in the last decade plus, I feel that my solo project and the Tedeschi Trucks Band is where my future and creative energy lies,” Trucks said.
Trucks fronts his own Derek Trucks Band and is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. Haynes has his own band, Gov’t Mule.
The Allman Brothers Band is set to perform Friday in an all-star tribute to Gregg Allman at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. The band is also scheduled to celebrate the group’s 45th anniversary in March with 10 shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York.
“The 45th anniversary of the Allman Brothers Band is a milestone amidst too many highlights to count, and I’m looking forward to an amazing year creating music that only the Allman Brothers Band can create,” Haynes said.
The departure of Haynes and Trucks leaves the band with singer-keyboardist Gregg Allman, drummers Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson and Butch Trucks, percussionist Marc Quinones, and bassist Oteil Burbridge.
The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
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