Celebrating 4/20 with a southern rock salute from Gov’t Mule in St. Louis

Some moments deserve, no, demand the right soundtrack. 4/20 at The Factory in St. Louis had exactly that: southern blues rock, pouring out of a legendary jam band and two sisters who clearly didn’t come to play second fiddle to anybody. The crowd was already primed and ready, openhearted with the kind of energy that only this particular holiday could generate. All that was left was for the music to deliver and, damn, did it ever!

Larkin Poe kicked the door open and Gov’t Mule walked through it like they owned the place.

After the lights went down, the Lovell sisters came walking out onto the stage and, with barely even a “hello”, took total command of the room. No big intro, no hype person needed; they let the music do the talking. Younger sister Rebecca led the pack as a solid frontwoman with killer vocals. She stayed grounded, acting as the anchor for the duo, although the one to watch was big sis Megan on lead electric lap-steel guitar. She was playing that thing like she was born with it wrapped around her neck! Larkin Poe proved to be well beyond what meets the eye with a high level of pure rock-&-roll stamina and true southern sound, backed by an abundance of grit and muscle. The sister act has Georgia blood and a Nashville zip code; somehow, the music lives in between — older and dirtier than either of those places get credit for these days.

When Warren Haynes took the stage, the energy in the room drastically shifted. You could just feel it, I mean, the man is a living bridge between classic southern rock history and what’s happening in the music world right now. He brought all of that knowledge with him to St Louis. This set had Allman Brothers DNA all over it, while still being its own thing. The show started with a cover of Steppenwolf’s 1968 protest song “Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam” — a perfect song for 4/20. Before long, a guy dressed as Uncle Sam came prancing out onto the stage, holding up signs following along with the lyrics stating “Don’t be such an ass, Sam” and “You’re so full of shit, Sam”.

The crowd loved it.

It came as no surprise that Haynes brought with him a backing band that was equally as good as he is. There was a heavy, heavy bass guitar, but not sloppy heavy — intentionally heavy. Something you feel deep in your chest. There was a drummer that was locked in like a Swiss watch, tight and precise, without ever losing the groove. The organ and keys, I mean, holy hell, what do I even say…? Anything that comes out of a Leslie speaker immediately has my heart. And, of course, the guitar playing was exactly what you’d hope for: fluid, confident, effortless, never showing off just for the sake of it… only ever adding to the music, always.

I’m sure 4/20 was celebrated by quite a few people, but the people at The Factory in St. Louis finished that night with a whole different reason to keep this day in the memory banks. Larkin Poe proved they belong on any stage, in any company, while Gov’t Mule reminded everyone why they have endured for so long. Somewhere mixed in between that was Leslie and Warren Haynes having a conversation via guitar with the audience as witness. When the music finally stopped, no one was quite ready to let it go.

Photography by Thomas Semonco

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