Watch Gov’t Mule & Yola Take On AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ In Atlanta

Gov’t Mule revisited a rarely played AC/DC cover with help from Yola at Atlanta’s Coca-Cola Roxy on Saturday. The singer handled lead vocals on “Back In Black,” which the band’s posted setlist identified as its first time performing the song in full.

Multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis played second guitar alongside Warren Haynes for the collaboration. Yola is serving as DJ and MC on the Dreaming The Same Dream Tour, the co-headlining run featuring Mule and Ziggy Marley. She previously joined Mule for “Me & Bobby McGee” in Raleigh and “Black Dog” in Richmond during the tour’s opening weekend and has since made nightly appearances.

Mule first tackled “Back In Black” with Myles Kennedy during their AC/DC-themed New Year’s Eve 2014 concert at New York City’s Beacon Theatre. That rendition omitted the traditional ending with its final chorus. The song also figured into an instrumental mashup with “Black Dog” at the Beacon on New Year’s Eve 2023, when Mule played the combination twice.

Saturday’s set began with “Bad Little Doggie,” “Mr. High And Mighty” and “Steppin’ Lightly.” Later, “She Said, She Said” flowed into a “Tomorrow Never Knows” jam before “Time To Confess” led up to Yola’s appearance. Mule followed “Back In Black” with “Funny Little Tragedy,” featuring a “Message In A Bottle” tease, and the set-closing “Thorazine Shuffle.” The reggae arrangement of “Soulshine,” containing a “Whiter Shade Of Pale” tease, served as the encore.

Atlanta’s Roxy name has a substantial place in Mule history, though Saturday’s venue is a different room from the original Roxy in Buckhead, now Buckhead Theatre. The band’s April 12, 1996 concert at the old Roxy was included in The Georgia Bootleg Box, while their guest-filled New Year’s Eve 1998 performance there became Live… With A Little Help From Our Friends. The current Coca-Cola Roxy opened at The Battery Atlanta in 2017.

Watch Yola join Gov’t Mule for “Back In Black” below:

Listen to the full Atlanta show with a nugs subscription:

Setlist (via Gov’t Mule Instagram)

Set: Bad Little Doggie, Mr. High And Mighty, Steppin’ Lightly, Rocking Horse, The River Only Flows One Way, Devil Likes It Slow, No Need To Suffer, She Said, She Said > Tomorrow Never Knows Jam, Time To Confess, Back In Black[1], Funny Little Tragedy[2], Thorazine Shuffle

Encore: Reggae Soulshine[3]

Footnotes:
[1] with Yola on vocals; Danny Louis on guitar; first time played in full, AC/DC
[2] “Message In A Bottle” tease
[3] “Whiter Shade Of Pale” tease