Gov’t Mule Dusts Off ‘Statesboro Blues’ In Luxembourg

Guitarist Warren Haynes is currently leading Gov’t Mule on a tour of Europe. Last night the quartet played the intimate Den Atelier in Luxembourg, where they encored with a rare cover of “Statesboro Blues.”

The foursome opened the first of two sets with “Mule” on Thursday and despite putting out a new album today, Gov’t Mule focused on classics in Luxembourg. Last night’s first set continued on with “Painted Silver Light,” “Whisper In Your Soul” and “Devil Likes It Slow” ahead of “Child Of The Earth,” “No Need To Suffer” and “Fool’s Moon.” Mule did pick from their new album to end the set with “Dreams & Songs” and “Stone Cold Rage.”

Gov’t Mule kicked off Thursday’s second set with a “Game Face” complete with a foray into “Mountain Jam.” A few songs later Haynes fit a “Mountain Jam” tease within an instrumental cover of “Lively Up Yourself” by Bob Marley & The Wailers. The set then rolled on with “Beautifully Broken” and “Which Way Do We Run?” before Mule brought the second frame to a close with “Lola Leave Your Light On” and “Broke Down On The Brazos.”

Last night’s encore was just Mule’s third “Statesboro Blues” since 2005. Haynes & Co. were joined by a bevy of special guests for a performance of the Allman Brothers Band live staple written by Blind Willie McTell for their New Year’s Eve show on December 31, 2015 and then by members of Blackberry Smoke for a “Statesboro Blues” last August. Thursday’s “Statesboro Blues” was the first time the band played the tune without any guests since November 19, 2005.

Stream the deluxe version of the just-released Mule album Revolution Come … Revolution Go: