Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule kicked off their five-show, co-headlining run on Wednesday in Toronto, and with a collaborative Allman Brothers Band cover in the bag after night one, this run is already shaping up to be a match made in guitar heaven.

After years of Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes occupying the same stage as the twin-headed guitar beast that powered the Allman Brothers Band, seeing the two with their respective bands back-to-back like this is a fulfilling sight for generations of ABB fans worldwide. Another fun aspect of the double bill is the added value of the “two-for-one” nature of the show. In today’s world where the cost of entertainment continues to spiral upward, it’s nice to see massive slabs of blues on live music’s value menu, so to speak.

Related: How To Stream Tedeschi Trucks Band & Gov’t Mule’s Co-Headlining Run

Gov’t Mule went first, and after a few licks and some quick final tunings, Warren Haynes’ trademark peals of blues power and his husky voice that has launched a million jams rang out. Though Mule is out celebrating its 30th anniversary on the Back in the Saddle Tour, the group looks a little different.

While drummer Matt Abts sits this one out to “attend to some lingering injuries from years behind the kit,” New Orleans-based beat master Terence Higgins will keep Abts’ stool warm and waiting for him. Higgins, who has been touring with the Warren Haynes Band after playing on that group’s recent album, Million Voices Whisper, is no stranger to the material or the faces on the stage. Filling out the rest of Mule was longtime stalwart Danny Louis on keys, while Kevin Scott kept the heartbeat thumping with his bass.

After a mournful, dirgelike rendition of The Staple Singers‘ “Hammer and Nails”, Mule was primed and ready to go. Haynes checked in with the packed field of fans before getting a little guitar boogie going on a call-and-response organ and guitar fest version of Ann Peebles‘ “I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home Tonight”.

Amid fierce sonic interplay between Haynes and Louis, Warren did what he does best and wrung every last emotion out of a single note—an ability unadulterated by however many notes he may stuff into a solo. His picked chords stood in sharp contrast to the more expansive chordwork laid down by Louis.

The rest of Mules’ far shorter-than-average set followed in that vein for about 90 minutes of slippery, thick blues jams and Haynes’ entrancing fretboard work. Big guitar-based laments like “Beautifully Broken” and “Time to Confess” rolled out alongside more hopeful pieces like “Dreaming Out Loud” and “Sco-Mule”.

Gov’t Mule — “Sco-Mule” — 9/3/25

[Video: DanLucky11]

Haynes and company closed their solo portion of the evening’s bill with a gut-wrenching “Thorazine Shuffle” and a towering take on the Allman Brothers Band classic “Soulshine”. Haynes has long made “Soulshine” his definitive tune, and for good reason; his plaintive voice, wailing guitar, and the uplifting nature of the tune are simply the perfect union of an artist and a song. It served, as it often does, as a joyous finale for Mule’s show.

After a short set change intermission, it was time for blues guitar power couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks and their stacked and packed 12-member band to do their thing. Tedeschi kicked off their portion of the evening with a powerful howl as her husband wound the guitar lines of “Walk Away With Me” throughout the maze of sounds created by the cadre of players assembled all around. The show opener and the next few tunes, “Anyhow” and “Do I Look Worried”, instantly demonstrated the difference in each act’s unique approach to the blues.

Tedeschi Trucks Band — “Anyhow” — 9/3/25

While Gov’t Mule surely has all the blues chops any four-piece band could hope for and then some, Tedeschi Trucks Band is more of an orchestra than a band. Between the soaring horn fills, the remarkably deep choir, and Gabe Dixon’s ascendant organ, the difference in dynamic range was on stunning display in just the first two songs. With the band’s footing established, the rest of its set unspooled in a remarkably loose and engaging way.

New-ish tune “Who Am I?” showed that TTB has plenty of fresh firepower to bolster its already impressive catalog and treasure trove of covers like Prince’s “1999” and Mike Reid’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me”. Trucks did some dark and magical chord work on “Learn How to Love” before demonstrating yet more skills with his finger-picked intro to the group’s cover of Derek & The Dominoes’ “Keep On Growing”.

Tedeschi Trucks Band — “I Can’t Make You Love Me” — 9/3/25

[Video: bbanderic]

Tedeschi’s vocals were at turns haunting, sorrowful, and triumphant on their own, but shine even brighter when complemented in duets. Her work with vocalist Mike Mattison on “Let Me Get By” elevated the piece into a beacon of hope. Trombonist Elizabeth Lea made the most out of her feature in the tune, and the jam coalesced into one of the highest points of the evening.

That ability to transform each night from the one to the whole is Tedeschi Trucks Band’s true greatest strength. Though they are all top-of-their-game performers, the way the puzzle pieces fit together and support each other makes the music they produce so dense and resilient that it’s almost as if each track is built to stand for centuries. Speaking of supporting each other, there was no one in the venue who didn’t know serial sit-in artist Haynes was coming out to help wrap up the show. When he emerged for the finale, he was met with a rousing, knowing cheer from the well-versed audience, eliciting a heartfelt look of “Aw shucks” from Warren.

Kicking off the sit-in with Allman Brothers tune “Stand Up” made perfect sense and led into the final highlight of the night. The last tune of the five-hour blues extravaganza, a Joe Cocker-influenced take on The Beatles classic “With A Little Help From My Friends”, was a wonderful payoff to the loving vibe built all evening long.

With TTB poised to release a live disc of its Mad Dogs & Englishmen set from LOCKN’ Festival 2015, the players made the seminal tune a feel-good explosion that had everyone on stage smiling in every direction. At the heart of all that feel-good energy, Haynes and Trucks stood next to each other, laying down riff after riff in a perfectly complementary, non-competitive way.

The last notes rang out past the clock on the wall that said that was all, sadly. Susan Tedeschi thanked the crowd and promised that the next time they came, they would be sure to play longer. Though both bands will surely return to Toronto and lay down some more incendiary solos on the city, the collaborative efforts last night were spectacular examples of what happens when egos are left behind and making the best music possible is the one true goal. Measured by that metric, the first night of this run was an unqualified success.

The co-headlining Tedeschi Trucks Band/Gov’t Mule run continues this week with shows in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan. Find tickets here and tune into every show of the run on nugs. Not a subscriber? Sign up for a nugs.net All Access subscription here, or get a 30-day free trial when you sign up for Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Swamp Family fan club here. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your subscription via the links on this page helps to support our work covering the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

Below, check out some photos from the first night of the run, courtesy of photographer Eric Fefferman.

Setlist: Gov’t Mule | Budweiser Stage | Toronto, ON | 9/3/25

Set: Hammer and Nails (The Staple Singers), I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home Tonight (Ann Peebles), Rocking Horse, Banks of the Deep End, Dreaming Out Loud, Beautifully Broken, Sco-Mule, Time to Confess, Thorazine Shuffle, Soulshine

Setlist: Tedeschi Trucks Band | Budweiser Stage | Toronto, ON | 9/3/25

Set: Anyhow, Do I Look Worried, Who Am I, Learn How to Love, Keep On Growing (Derek and the Dominos), 1999 (Prince), Isaac/Kebbi Jam > Let Me Get By [1], I Can’t Make You Love Me (Mike Reid) [2], Devil Be Gone, Part of Me, Made Up Mind, Stand Back (The Allman Brothers Band) [3], With A Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles) [3] [4]

[1] w/ “Manic Depression” tease during Gabe’s solo
[2] Susan and Gabe duo
[3] w/ Warren Haynes
[4] Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs & Englishmen arrangement