Justin Hayward has been singing some of his songs for 40 years, 50 years, even longer.

There’s one variable that makes each performance different.

“I think the audience brings something to it,” Hayward said during a phone interview from a tour stop in Boston. “The audience brings an atmosphere each time I do these songs that is very different. It’s a wonderful thing. The audience can create a bit of magic in the room.

“It’s like when you and I listen to music late at night. There’s kind of an aura that surrounds us when we’re listening. You definitely feel that in the room. If songs mean something to people, they bring that atmosphere with them.”

When asked if that special atmosphere an audience brings is one of the reasons he continues to tour at age 77, Hayward replied, “Yeah, I think it is. Ever since I was 17 I’ve been a professional musician on the road. It’s a way of life, and I really appreciate it that I’m asked to come to these venues. I’m offered lots of stuff, which I’m really pleased about. And I’m going to do it until I’m not. And I haven’t got any plans to change.”

Hayward, who performed at the Robins Theatre in 2021, returns to the downtown Warren theater for a concert at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Most of the songs Hayward performs were recorded with The Moody Blues, a group that is considered a progressive rock icon for the lush, orchestral feel of its arrangements. These days, Hayward performs those songs in a more stripped down fashion backed by guitar player Mike Dawes (who does double duty as Hayward’s opening act), flutist Karmen Gould and vocalist, keyboard and saxophone player Julie Ragins.

“I think they’re closer to the way I wrote them,” Hayward said. “I still do make demos at home of my songs, and the way we do them on stage with Mike and Karmen and Julie is closer to the way my demos are. A lot of them start with keyboard or acoustic guitar. I’ll often just do both on records and on the demos and harmonize with myself. Jule Ragins, who’s been with me for some time now and was with the Moodys as well, has a perfect voice. We just always blend together, and that’s what we love about each other’s voices.”

The Moody Blues received plenty of radio play in the United States with songs like “Tuesday Afternoon” and “I’m Just a Singer in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band” and with a pop / adult contemporary resurgence in the 1980s with “Your Wildest Dreams” and “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.”

The group’s most iconic song is “Nights in White Satin” from its 1967 album “Days of Future Past.” Legend has it the classical elements were requested by the band’s label, Decca Records, to showcase the potential of stereo recordings of classical works. Instead, the record became an influence on much of the progressive rock that followed, and “Nights” became a number one single in the U.S. five years after its initial release.

“I don’t believe there is anyone in the group who believed any of these things are going to be big hit records,” Hayward said. “That was nowhere in our minds … I don’t think we thought anyone would actually hear it.

“‘Nights’ came out in the UK in 1967 … Some people believed in it straight away and other people just didn’t at Decca in London. It had a little bit of success but it wasn’t a thing to go on AM radio. And in the States, they released ‘Tuesday Afternoon,’ and it was a minor hit, but it still got known.”

“Nights in White Satin” wasn’t released as a single in the U.S. in the ’60s, but some DJs continued to play it, especially on freeform FM radio stations. It also became popular at school proms and dances.

“You don’t need to be able to dance to like ‘Nights in White Satin.’ You can just hold onto each other and stagger around,” Hayward joked.

The label was trying to push the band’s new “Seventh Sojourn” LP, but none of the new songs were getting the same traction as “Nights,” and it eventually became a pop radio hit.

While other bands had songs that sold more copies or stayed on the charts longer, “Night in White Satin” has the distinction of being one of the few songs immortalized as an amusement park ride. The short-lived Hard Rock Park at Myrtle Beach, S.C, featured a dark ride called Nights in White Satin: The Trip. Hayward got to ride on it.

“Yes, that was a great day,” Hayward said. “The Eagles were there as well. I don’t remember what their ride was called. I did go on the ride. It was kind of psychedelic and spooky at the same time, a psychedelic bit and then a spooky bit. It really seemed to work. I enjoyed it. It’s a shame. It was just miles from the infrastructure for people to be able to get there. They should have done the getting people there part first.”

If you go …

WHO: Justin Hayward and Mike Dawes

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Robins Theatre, 160 E. Market St., Warren

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $57 and $47 and are available at the Robins box office and online at robinstheatre.com.