Gov’t Mule arrived in New Haven, CT on Friday to help celebrate the grand opening of the Westville Music Bowl, a new outdoor music stadium poised to become a hotspot for concerts in the Northeast. In addition to being the first-ever show at the new socially distant venue, the performance marked the first full show by the veteran jam-rock outfit since prior to the pandemic.
Related: As Tours Resume, The Jam Band Scene Finds A New Haven At Westville Music Bowl
Mule—comprised of Warren Haynes, Matt Abts, Danny Louis, and Jorgen Carlsson—jumped back into the saddle on night one of three in New Haven with a thematically appropriate pairing of “Lay Your Burden Down” and “Bring On The Music”, a call gladly heeded by the limited-capacity crowd and the hundreds tuning in via livestream.
Other highlights included a first set rendition of “Trane” wrapped around a cover of The J.B.’s “Doing It To Death” and a free-flowing second set that wove in and out of soul and blues classics and Mule fan-favorites.
With time for a couple more, Gov’t Mule returned to the stage to encore with a reprise of “Bring On The Music” and a sing-along rendition of The Marshall Tucker Band‘s “Can’t You See”.
Gov’t Mule will return on Saturday and Sunday night to round out the venue’s opening weekend. Limited tickets for the Sunday, May 2nd performance featuring special guest Ann Wilson of Heart are still available here.
Check out a selection of videos and photos from the first-ever show at Westville Music Bowl below.
Gov’t Mule – Set 1 Teaser [Pro-Shot] – Westville Music Bowl – 4/30/21
[Video: Relix]
Gov’t Mule – Set 2 Teaser [Pro-Shot] – Westville Music Bowl – 4/30/21
[Video: Relix]
Gov’t Mule – “Can’t You See” (Marshall Tucker Band) – Westville Music Bowl – 4/30/21
[Video: Sean Roche]
Gov’t Mule – “Game Face” – Westville Music Bowl – 4/30/21
[Video: Sean Roche]
Gov’t Mule – “I Asked Her For Water” (Howlin’ Wolf) – Westville Music Bowl – 4/30/21
[Video: Sean Roche]
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Setlist: Gov’t Mule | Westville Music Bowl | New Haven, CT | 4/32/21
Set One: Lay Your Burden Down, Bring On The Music, Game Face, Trane -> Doin’ It To Death (The J.B.’s) -> Trane, Man I Wanna Be, Little Toy Brain, Banks of the Deep End
Set Two: Time To Confess, No Need To Suffer, I Asked Her For Water (Howlin’ Wolf), Rocking Horse, Effigy (Creedence Clearwater Revival), I’m A Ram (Al Green)
Encore: Bring On The Music Reprise -> Can’t You See (Marshall Tucker Band)