Photo by Charlie Horne

On Sunday afternoon, Gov’t Mule descended upon Chattanooga, Tenn., to play at Riverbend Festival, following Saturday night’s display at Lakeview Hullabaloo in Birmingham, Ala. The band delivered a single-set performance packed with tunes from their latest LP, 2021’s Heavy Load Blues and some older classics. 

The show got underway with a heart-stopping take on “John The Revelator.” Warren Haynes used Duane Allman’s legendary instrument, a 1961 Les Paul SG, to deliver the epic instrumental rips for the band’s rendition of the tune. They followed with their 1995 number, “Mule,” before launching into the third track off Heavy Load Blues, “Wake Up Dead.”

The single set performance continued with “Banks Of The Deep End,” off 2001’s The Deep End Vol. 1. They followed up with “Stone Cold Rage” ahead of an epic-segued selection of songs that began with “Snatch It Back and Hold It” into “ Hold It Back” and a “Snatch It Back and Hold It” return. 

The band threw it back to 1998 with a pairing off Dose, “Game Face” and “Thorazine Shuffle.” Then, Gov’t Mule returned to the 21st-century catalog with “Feel Like Burning Up Someone’s Home.” Finally, for the last song of their Riverbend stand, they played “Soulshine.” 

Allman’s guitar was loaned to the Gov’t Mule frontman by Songbirds Guitar & Pop Culture Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn. The exhibit also displays celebrity guitars played by some of the music industry’s most extraordinary talents, like Chuck Berry, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison and more.

Following Sunday’s performance, Gov’t Mule will continue their summer tour on Tuesday, June 7, at Capital Region MU Healthcare Amphitheater in Jefferson City, Mo. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here. 

See the complete setlist below.

Gov’t Mule 

Riverbend Festival – Chattanooga, Tenn.

June 5, 2022 

Set: John The Revelator^, Mule, Wake Up Dead, Banks Of The Deep End, Stone Cold Rage, Snatch It Back and Hold It > Hold It Back > Snatch It Back and Hold It, Game Face, Thorazine Shuffle, Feel Like Burning Up Someone’s Home, Soulshine 

Notes:

^ With Duane Allman’s 1961 Les Paul SG