Gov’t Mule Welcomes George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Horns & More In New Orleans

Gov’t Mule launched their spring tour on Friday with a guest-filled concert in New Orleans. The quartet was joined by George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Reeves Gabrels, Smoky Greenwell and the Levee Horns at various points of the show at the Orpheum Theater.

The quartet featuring guitarist Warren Haynes, multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis, bassist Jorgen Carlsson and drummer Matt Abts opened with the fitting “Traveling Tune” and then romped through “Wake Up Dead” from their 2021 album, Heavy Load Blues. Next, Mule paired covers of Savoy Brown’s “Street Corner Talking” and Tom Waits’ “Make It Rain” before delivering an extended “Game Face.”

Gov’t Mule will release a new album entitled Peace...Like A River on June 16. Friday’s tour opener featured live debuts of both singles the four-piece has put out so far starting with the premiere of “Same As It Ever Was” that followed “Game Face.” The first set continued with a medley that incorporated parts of “Trane,” “Rumble,” “Sex Machine,” “Eternity’s Breath” and “St. Stephen.”

The Cure guitarist Reeves Gabrels emerged after the 17-minute medley to augment Gov’t Mule on a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” that birthed an “Apollo Honey” jam. The evening’s first guest stuck around for a set-closing take on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World” that encapsulated the Jimi Hendrix classic “Machine Gun.”

Gov’t Mule took the stage for the second set with the Levee Horns. The horn section backed the quartet on the traditional gospel song “John The Revelator” and “Stage Fright” by The Band to get the frame underway. Mule then offered the live debut of Peace…Like A River lead single “Dreaming Out Loud” with the horns before George Porter Jr. came out to join the band and Levee Horns on covers of Elvis Costello’s “From A Whisper To A Scream” and Little Feat’s “Sailin’ Shoes.”

The horns left Gov’t Mule and George Porter Jr. as keyboardist Ivan Neville and harmonica player Smokey Greenwell took the stage for Robert Johnson-penned blues number “32-20 Blues.” George Porter Jr. stuck around for “Thorazine Clusterfuck,” a bass-heavy version of Gov’t Mule live staple “Thorazine Shuffle,” to wrap the set. Reeves Gabrels and Smokey Greenwell added to the evening’s “Get Behind The Mule” encore.

Watch the horns and George Porter Jr. add to “Sailin’ Shoes” via fan-shot video below:

Official Audio (via nugs.net)

Setlist (via Gov’t Mule Facebook)

Set One: Traveling Tune, Wake Up Dead, Street Corner Talking, Make It Rain, Game Face, Same As It Ever Was*, Trane > Rumble > Sex Machine > Eternity’s Breath Shuffle > St. Stephen Jam, Creep@ > Apollo Honey Jam@, Rockin’ In The Free World@ > Machine Gun@ > Rockin’ In The Free World@

Set Two: John The Revelator#, Stage Fright#, Dreaming Out Loud#*, From A Whisper To A Scream#$, Sailing Shoes#$, 32-20 Blues$%&, Thorazine Shuffle$

Encore: Get Behind The Mule@&

• * – First Time Played
• @ – w/ Reeves Gabrels
• # – w/ Levee Horns
• $ – w/ George Porter Jr.
• % – w/ Ivan Neville
• & – w/ Smoky Greenwell