Gov’t Mule Tap Terence Higgins for “War Pigs” at FloydFest
Gov’t Mule, photo by Jay Blakesberg
Last night, July 24, Gov’t Mule took the stage in Floyd, Va. for their highly anticipated headline set at FloydFest 2025. Gov’t Mule’s main stage closing performance doubled as the kickoff for their summer and fall touring, which will keep the band busy with a packed cross-country trek through the beginning of November. Their first performance since the spring was an explosive celebration of their catalog and frontman Warren Haynes’ other acclaimed ventures, plus a few well-traveled covers. The most notable detail from Thursday night, though, was behind the drum kit, where Terence Higgins filled in for founding drummer Matt Abts.
“As you may have noticed, Matt is absent at the moment,” the band shared in a post after the show. While he’s feeling a bit under the weather, we’re grateful to have our friend Terence Higgins making it just in time to join for this weekend’s run.” In a response to a commenter, the band detailed that Abts is expected to rejoin the band after this weekend, which would leave him out of the seat for their three July dates, but back for their proper tour departure in late August.
Backed by Grammy-winning longtime Warren Haynes Band drummer Higgins, who just returned to the states after joining Haynes on his ten-stop European tour, Gov’t Mule tore into their headlining set with Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” delivered in tribute ot the late Ozzy Osbourne and continuing a 27-year history with the cover. The band continued with a race through the classics like “Mule,” “Rocking Horse,” “Banks of the Deep End” and “Sco-Mule,” then dropped into the Allman Brothers Band catalog for “Dreams.” Two more tributes to late legends arrived with “Patchwork Quilt,” originally from Haynes’ time in Phil Lesh & Friends, and The Band’s “Stage Fright,” which the band broke out this year after the passing of Garth Hudson.
Gov’t Mule moved towards the end of their show with the hard-hitting and supremely funky J.B.’s cover “Doing It to Death,” then lit up a radiant “Soulshine,” a bluesy “Bad Little Doggie and a set-closing “Blind Man in the Dark.” As a cherry on top, the band returned for an encore with their U2’s Achtung Baby essential “One,” which was a staple of their live shows in the early 200s and re-entered the rotation as a rarity back in March.
Gov’t Mule will return to the spotlight tonight for a performance at Louisville, Ky.’s Iroquois Amphitheater. Find tickets and more information on the band’s upcoming tour dates at mule.net.
