As the rock n’ roll world continues donning black in mourning for the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne, Gov’t Mule offered a musical tribute on Friday at the Iroquois Amphitheater in Louisville, KY with a bust-out of “Sweet Leaf”. Audiences braved over 90° heat for Mule’s first concert at the 2,300+ seat outdoor concert venue since 2019.

Friday’s show marked the inaugural headlining concert of Mule’s celebratory Back in the Saddle 30th anniversary tour which, ironically, has so far seen Terence Higgins filling in for longtime drummer Matt Abts alongside bandleader Warren Haynes (guitar, vocals), Danny Louis (keyboards, guitar), and Kevin Scott (bass).

Mule launched the evening with the traditional “Railroad Boy” before segueing into a jam sandwich of “Game Face” into the Allman Brothers Band instrumental “Mountain Jam” and back into “Game Face”. The remainder of the nine-song first set intertwined Mule originals like Heavy Load Blues‘ “Wake Up Dead” and the recently-unshelved “Tear Me Down” off The Deep End with classic funky covers including Tower of Powers‘ “What is Hip?” featuring plenty of solo psychedelic jamming from each member and Van Morrison‘s “I’ve Been Working”. Bringing it back around to the Mule songbook, the band capped off the first set with The Deep End, Vol. 2‘s “Time to Confess”, with just a taste of Bob Marley‘s “Get Up, Stand Up”.

Despite the high temperature that a Louisville summer night all but guarantees, Mule didn’t hold back bringing the heat to the stage, and the fans fully embraced it. Kicking off the second set, Haynes paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osborne with a raging cover of Black Sabbath classic “Sweet Leaf”, bringing the audience to its feet and sending fists pumping into the air for the momentous occasion. Friday marked the first Gov’t Mule performance of “Sweet Leaf” since November 1st, 2018, per Setlist.fm.

Gov’t Mule — “Sweet Leaf” (Black Sabbath) — 7/25/25

[Video: Todd Sivado]

Related: Widespread Panic Unleashes “War Pigs” For Asheville Finale [Photos/Videos]

Gov’t Mule mined its influences for a cover-heavy second set, including takes on John Scofield‘s “Hottentot”, moe.‘s “Opium”, Al Green‘s “I’m A Ram”, and the band’s second-ever cover of Steely Dan‘s “Pretzel Logic”, featuring teases of The Meters‘ “Hey Pocky A-Way” and Paul Simon‘s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. After spending the bulk of the frame nodding to its influences, Gov’t Mule gave audiences a taste of the unique musical stew it cooked up from all these unique flavors with a “Thorazine Shuffle” closer.

Following a brief pause, Gov’t Mule ended the evening in the picturesque, open-air setting with an appropriate encore of the Allman Brothers Band classic, “Blue Sky”. With the crowd swaying and singing along, fans left hopeful that Mule wouldn’t wait another six years to return to Iroquois Amphitheater.

Check out some fan-shot videos from Gov’t Mule in Louisville by Todd Sivado. The band’s 30th anniversary tour will pick back up at the end of August and roll on through November, including co-headlining shows with Tedeschi Trucks Band. Find tickets and tour dates here. Stream live video and audio on nugs. Not signed up for nugs yet? Start a seven-day free trial here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

Gov’t Mule — “Game Face” > “Mountain Jam” (The Allman Brothers Band) > “Game Face” — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “What Is Hip?” (Tower Of Power) — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “Time To Confess” — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “Hottentot” (John Scofield) — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “Opium” (moe.) — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “Pretzel Logic” (Steely Dan) — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “Thorazine Shuffle” — 7/25/25

Gov’t Mule — “Blue Sky” (The Allman Brothers Band) — 7/25/25

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Setlist: Gov’t Mule | Iroquois Amphitheater | Louisville, KY | 7/25/25

Set One: Railroad Boy (Traditional), Game Face > Mountain Jam (The Allman Brothers Band) > Game Face, Wake Up Dead, Tear Me Down, Stratus (Billy Cobham), What Is Hip? (Tower of Power), I’ve Been Working (Van Morrison) > What Is Hip?, Time to Confess [1]
Set Two: Sweet Leaf (Black Sabbath) [2] Stone Cold Rage, Hottentot (John Scofield), Opium (moe.), Pretzel Logic (Steely Dan) [3], I’m A Ram (Al Green), Thorazine Shuffle
Encore: Blue Sky (The Allman Brothers Band)

[1] w/ ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ tease
[2] LTP 11/1/18, for Ozzy Osbourne
[3] w/ ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ & ‘Hey Pocky A-Way’ teases