Witnessing Warren Haynes’ Gov’t Mule in Lafayette, NY
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Warren Haynes’ Gov’t Mule brought their signature combo of southern rock and jam music to the orchards at Beak and Skiff in Lafayette, New York — delighting a packed crowd. The guitar player and member of the Allman Brothers’ extended family took his band through a fiery set of soulful rock and western jams in what turned out to be a beautiful night on their summer 2022 tour. Haynes, multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis, bassist Jordan Carlsson and drummer Matt Abts brought technical virtuosity to a well-chosen set, filled with excellent cover song choices and proving why you shouldn’t ever sleep on this band.
The set kicked off with a cover of Son House’s “Grinnin’ In Your Face”, followed up with “Mule” and then “Wake Up Dead” and “Snatch It Back and Hold It”. The set rolled on while Haynes led his band through a cover of the title track from 2017’s Revolution Come…Revolution Go, leading up to the end of the first set with “Time to Confess”.
It was a calm night with a warm breeze at the hilltop orchard as the second set began.
The sun was setting in orange and reds as the band took the stage with “No Need to Suffer” from the 2000 album Life Before Insanity. They played a great cover of Savoy Brown’s “Street Corner Talking” and then an incredible cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Effigy”. The band took it country western with Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” next; Haynes kept the tempo pumping and replicated the singer’s vocal melody on his guitar before swerving back once again into “Effigy”. The band ended the set with two fan-favorites: Al Green’s “I’m a Ram” and Tom Waits’ “Going Out West” before a “Soulshine” encore that left everyone overly content.
Whenever Warren Haynes comes to town, you know he’s going to do something special. The man is unspeakably talented and with Mule, he has assembled a pack of incredible musicians around him. It’s never a show to be missed. Make sure you have tickets if this tour comes your way!
Photography by Tom Fucillo
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