Shovels & Rope & Michael ‘The Bull’ LoBue Join Little Feat In Charleston

Little Feat brought out Shovels & Rope and harmonica player Michael “The Bull” LoBue during Monday night’s concert at the Charleston Music Hall in Charleston, South Carolina. The guest appearances came during the acoustic portion of the second set on the first night of the band’s two-show stand.

Little Feat announced last month that Johns Island-based Shovels & Rope would sit in at both Charleston concerts. The husband-and-wife duo of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent emerged late in Monday’s acoustic set for “Truck Stop Girl” and “Willin’.” Both songs were written or co-written by late Little Feat co-founder Lowell George, with Bill Payne joining George in writing “Truck Stop Girl.”

Trent came out with an acoustic guitar for the two-song sequence. He and Hearst provided backing vocals on “Truck Stop Girl” before sharing lead vocal duties with Scott Sharrard on “Willin’.”

Before Shovels & Rope’s appearances, LoBue added harmonica to “Running Out Of Time With The Blues” and “Got My Mojo Working,” the latter featuring percussionist Sam Clayton on lead vocals. “Running Out Of Time With The Blues,” written by Little Feat drummer Tony Leone, appears on the band’s 2025 album Strike Up The Band.

LoBue has frequently performed and recorded with Little Feat. The harmonica player contributed to the group’s 2024 blues album Sam’s Place, which concluded with a live version of “Got My Mojo Working” featuring LoBue and Clayton that was recorded in Boulder, Colorado in 2022.

The acoustic sequence also included “Rad Gumbo” before the guest appearances. Payne, Leone and Clayton then performed “New Delhi Freight Train” during the changeover before Little Feat returned to electric instruments. The remainder of the show featured “Let It Roll,” “Oh Atlanta,” a “Spanish Moon” > “Skin It Back” pairing and “Dixie Chicken” > “Tripe Face Boogie.” As usual, “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” served as the encore.

The Charleston concerts are part of the fall leg of Little Feat’s The Last Farewell Tour. The run began last week at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium with another guest-filled performance featuring Marcus King, Maggie Rose, Tommy Emmanuel, Drew Smithers and Peter Levin. Little Feat and Shovels & Rope return to the Charleston Music Hall tonight, September 15.

Watch the other collaborations from Monday’s show below:

Setlist (via FeatBase.net)

Set One: Fat Man In The Bathtub, Hate To Lose Your Lovin’, 4 Days Of Heaven 3 Days Of Work, Two Trains, Old Folks Boogie, Romance Dance, Midnight Flight, Long Distance Love, Time Loves A Hero > Day Or Night

Set Two: Rad Gumbo, Running Out Of Time With The Blues*, Got My Mojo Working*, Truck Stop Girl**, Willin’**, New Delhi Freight Train***, Day At The Dog Races (Intro), Let It Roll, Oh Atlanta, Spanish Moon > Skin It Back, Dixie Chicken > Tripe Face Boogie

Encore: Feats Don’t Fail Me Now

* with Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica
** with Shovels & Rope
*** Bill Payne, Tony Leone and Sam Clayton