Thirty Years Strong tour
Gov’t Mule,
Fox Tucson Theatre
Tucson, Arizona
February 22, 2024
Review and photos by Mary Andrews
Gov’t Mule’s return to Tucson was sold out weeks in advance. The show was a resounding sucess as anticipated by their faithful fans. The band emerged as a Southern rock and blues jam band in the 1990s after guitarist, Warren Haynes, splintered off the Allman Brothers band. They have been performing across the world every since.
The band, in addition to Haynes, consists of Matt Abts on drums, Danny Louis on keyboards, guitar, trumpet and vocals, and Kevin Scott on bass. There was also a special guest appearance by electric banjo player, Ryan Cavanaugh, considered to be the most versatile banjo player in the country. https://www.ryancavanaughbanjo.com/about The entire band excels at playing, especially playing live, and improvising around fixed compositions. Their songs are long, and the players improvise and focus on playing.
The blues and classic rock is a major influence on Haynes.
Their set consists of less songs, but the songs are longer, filled with extensive instrumental selections and improvisation. They opened the set with “Bad Little Doggie” and they cruised along during the first set of the evening with the highlight being “Time to Confess.” The second set was like an entire new concert beginning with “Unring the Bell” from the High and Mighty album.The entire show was a look back at the Mule’s entire career.
“Stone Cold Rage” was more laid back than the original recording with more improvisation by the band. “Endless Parade”was soul music at its best. The songs had the fans on their feet and dancing in the isles for the entire show.
The tour is promoting their new album release, Peace. . . Like a River, and they were happy to introduce new tunes from the album. Selections included “Dreaming Out Loud,” “Same as It Ever Was.”and “Gone Too Long.” The songs are familiar yet fresh and appealing.
The encore was “Soulshine” a song written by Haynes and Greg Allman and was a pure crowd pleaser. The show seemed to be over as soon as it began. The show was on fire and Tucson is ready to have the band back again. It was a pleasure to have two full sets from ‘the Mule.”
Website | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | TikTok | Instagram |
