Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule Conclude Shared Series with Collaborative Allman Brothers Band Debut, Beatles Cover and More
Tedeschi Trucks Band with Warren Haynes, image via YouTube
Last night, Sept. 10, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule pulled into Clarkston, Mich., for one last stop in their end-of-season shared series. Onstage at Pine Knob Music Theatre, the two celebrated Southern rock and jam ensembles tore through sets that honored the musical legacy they carry and blazed trails into their future. After captivating performances in Toronto, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Mansfield, Mass. and Chicago, the longtime collaborators’ fifth and final split bill brought further opportunities to boldly fuse blues, country-rock, jazz, gospel and more as the artists pooled their experience with some surprise sit-ins.
Gov’t Mule set off Wednesday’s series finale with an intimate treatment of Son House’s Delta blues essential “Grinning in Your Face,” performed a cappella by frontman Warren Haynes for only the second time in 2025. Haynes bandmates Danny Louis, Kevin Scott and Terence Higgins–currently sitting in for founding drummer Matt Abts–joined in for the subsequent “Mule,” then charged ahead into “Same as It Ever Was,” “Banks of the Deep End” and their reliably expansive medley of “Game Face” and the Allman Brothers Band’s “Mountain Jam,” featuring a notable tease of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.”
After the instrumental ripper “Sco-Mule,” Gov’t Mule welcomed their first guests of the evening, with Tedeschi Trucks Band’s vocalists Alecia Chakour and Mike Mattison and horn section–featuring saxophonist Kebbi Williams, trumpeter Emmanuel Echem and trombonist Elizabeth Lea–joining in for “Dreaming Out Loud.” The soulful stomp of Al Green’s “I’m a Ram” led the quartet into another Allman Brothers essential, this time with Derek Trucks joining Haynes to recreate their latter-day Hittin’ the Note standout “Desdemona.” In the wake of that unexpected live debut, the band dropped into “Rocking Horse,” then set up the reliable set closer of “Soulshine” with co-lead vocals from Susan Tedeschi.
Tedeschi Trucks Band stepped into the spotlight for last night’s main event with “Anyhow,” sparking a trail of originals like “Soul Sweet Song” that led to an early cover of Sleepy John Estes’ well-traveled blues standard “Leaving Trunk.” Next came TTB’s honed treatment of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s avant-garde jazz classic “Volunteered Slavery,” which originated as a holdover from the Derek Trucks Band’s live repertoire. From the exhilarating tempo of the fresh 2025 debut “Future Soul,” the group slowed into a focused take on their beloved medley of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” and the Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree.”
Tedeschi, Trucks and their 10-piece backing band moved into the final act of their performance with another trio of treasured originals, working through “Do I Look Worried” and “Midnight in Harlem” before landing in 2013’s “Made Up Mind.” To cap off Wednesday’s performance, the artists called their old friend Haynes to the stage for a fiery and lyrical guitar solo on the Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post,” then added keyboardist Louis and surprise guest vocalist Nolan Taylor to the lineup for a fitting finale of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends,” offered in the style of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen.
Following their memorable reunion, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule will part ways for their respective Live in 25! and Back in the Saddle tours. On Saturday, Sept. 12, TTB will return for the first of two nights at Bridgeport, Conn.’s Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater, while Mule will deliver a set at The Big E 2025 in West Springfield, Mass. Find tickets and more information at tedeschitrucksband.com and mule.net.
