Gov’t Mule Brings Out Larkin Poe & Mike Barnes In Charlotte

Gov't Mule's spring run with Larkin Poe arrived in guitarist Warren Haynes' home state of North Carolina on Saturday. Haynes and his bandmates brought out Larkin Poe’s Megan and Rebecca Lovell for a Bob Dylan cover and also welcomed guest guitarist Mike Barnes during the show at The Amp Ballantyne in Charlotte.

Gov’t Mule launched their set with the traditional “Railroad Boy” followed by “Stone Cold Rage,” “Dreaming Out Loud” and “Beautifully Broken.” The band then fit “Mountain Jam” within “Game Face.”

After “Sco-Mule,” Megan and Rebecca Lovell took the stage for a cover of “I Shall Be Released.” Megan sang lead while Rebecca added lap steel guitar to the Bob Dylan/The Band classic. The sisters and Warren came together for three-part harmonies on the song’s iconic chorus.

Mule then went it alone for “Time To Confess” and “Shake Your Way Out,” the latter off the band’s latest studio album Peace… Like A River, ahead of a take on Aerosmith's “Same Old Song And Dance.” Guitarist Mike Barnes then joined Gov’t Mule for a cover of “Stratus,” from the catalog of drum great Billy Cobham.

“Stratus” originally appears on Cobham’s 1973 album Spectrum. Haynes teamed with his fellow North Carolina native Mike Barnes, the longtime friends formed a childhood band together in Asheville, for the fretboard firework-fueled version of the song.

Gov’t Mule went on to close their main set with “Blind Man In The Dark.” The encore saw the band sandwiching Van Morrison's “Tupelo Honey” amid Haynes’ signature song, “Soulshine.”