Devon Allman & Duane Betts Among Gov’t Mule Guests At Island Exodus Finale

Gov’t Mule concluded this year’s Island Exodus event in Runaway Bay, Jamaica with two sets and two encores on Wednesday. The whole show was filled with rarities and the second stanza contained a bevy of guest appearances.

Warren Haynes & Co. went with “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground” to open and then worked a bit of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” into a cover of Al Green’s “I’m A Ram.” The band then treated fans to classics “Life Before Insanity,” “Game Face” and “Tastes Like Wine” ahead of their second-ever rendition of Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” and third-ever take on Black Sabbath’s “Hand Of Doom.” Next up was Revolution Come … Revolution Go rarity “Click-Track” and the title track from the 2017 album.

Gov’t Mule welcomed old friends (and band members’ wives) The Better Half Singers for a large swath of the second set starting with the “Million Miles From Yesterday” opener. The Better Half Singers also added to “Dreams & Songs” from Revolution Come … Revolution Go and Mule’s first version of Van Morrison’s “Ballerina” since 2017. Guitarist R. Scott Bryan and saxophonist Ron Holloway also helped out on “Ballerina.” A big bust out followed as Haynes dusted off “That’s Why I’m Here” by James Taylor after a nearly seven-year layoff and worked the song into the reggae version of his beloved “Soulshine” featuring Bryan, Holloway and The Better Half Singers.

The quartet went at it alone for a version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Effigy” that segued into jams on “Folsom Prison Blues” and “St. Stephen.” Holloway then returned along with Devon Allman for Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels.” The final set of the destination event ended with a cover of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica” featuring Duane Betts and R. Scott Bryan. For the first encore, Mule served up “32/20 Blues” featuring Holloway, Bryan and guitarist Johnny Stachela and a bevy of teases. The four-piece came back for a second encore of Pearl Jam’s “Come Back” and Grand Funk Railroad’s “Sin’s A Good Man’s Brother.”

Setlist

Set One: Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, I’m A Ram with Black Dog tease, Life Before Insanity, Game Face with Birdland , Tastes Like Wine, Locomotive Breath, Hand Of Doom, Click-Track, Revolution Come, Revolution Go

Set Two: Million Miles From Yesterday with The Better Half Singers; Dreams & Songs with The Better Half Singers; Ballerina with The Better Half Singers, R. Scott Bryan & Ron Holloway; That’s Why We’re Here > Reggae Soulshine with The Better Half Singers, R. Scott Bryan & Ron Holloway; Effigy > Folsom Prison Blues Jam > Effigy > St. Stephen Jam, You Don’t Know How It Feels with Ron Holloway & Devon Allman, Jessica with R. Scott Bryan & Duane Betts; You Don’t Know How It Feels tease

Encore1: 32/20 Blues with Ron Holloway, R. Scott Bryan & Johnny Stachela; Les Brers In A Minor, Hottentot & Loser teases

Encore2: Come Back with Ron Holloway, Sin’s A Good Man’s Brother