Gov’t Mule kicked off the new year with their 11th Island Exodus getaway from Jan. 19-23 in Jamaica.

The headlining band had plenty of friends join them through their six sets – plus Warren Haynes’ solo outing on Jan. 21.

After fans settled in with a Jan. 18 Melvin Seals & JGB show, Mule’s Jan. 19 performance saw Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket sit-in for The Beatles’ “Dig A Pony” during set one, and longtime Mule collaborator Ron Holloway add his saxophone to a dub-style “Maggot Brain” during set two.

Gov’t Mule’s first Jamaican outing ended with Luther Dickinson and Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars as well as drummer Justin Guip – who is currently touring with Hot Tuna – playing on Little Feat favorite “Two Trains” and a set-closing “32/20 Blues” (the latter tune also included Holloway).

Holloway appeared again the following evening on the tail-end of Mule’s first half, adding his horn on “Devil Likes It Slow” and re-emerging a couple songs later for a set-closing “Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys,” which also included the Dickinson Brothers.

Later, Gov’t Mule punctuated set two with a pairing of “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” and “Mr. Charlie” featuring the Hot Tuna trio of Guip, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady.

After Mule cooled down with their own “Time To Confess,” Holloway emerged one last time for the band’s Dose cut “Thelonius Beck.”

Gov’t Mule closed their second show in paradise with “Thorazine Shuffle,” before welcoming Broemel for their encore of “Lucky” and adding former Band of Horses guitarist Tyler Ramsey for their final tune, the Traffic favorite “Sand As Deep As You.”

As the band’s vacation progressed, Haynes’ daytime set on Jan. 21, featured a number of the aforementioned artists.

He opened the performance with Mule’s “In My Life” and eventually welcomed Cody Dickinson for “Beat Down The Dust.” Haynes then expanded that duo into a trio with Dickinson stepping out and Broemel and Ramsey joining in for the following “From The Morning” and “All Through The Night” (both of which acted as live debuts for Haynes).

From there, Cody Dickinson joined the group once more; the quartet offered “Time (The Relevator)” and “You Ain’t Going Nowhere,” before Haynes enjoyed a Q&A with the crowd.

Finally, Luther Dickinson backed up Haynes for a version of the ABB classic “Melissa” to end the informal set.

The next night was Mule’s final hurrah, and the band wasted no time, serving up a “Hammer & Nails” opener and a massive “I Think You Know What I Mean”> “When The Levee Breaks”> “I Think You Know What I Mean” segment.

Holloway jammed on “Opium” and the very-fitting “Reblow Your Horn,” and Casady later added his bass to “Slow Happy Boys.”

A nice “Help Me”> “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”> “Help Me” closed the first frame, with Casady and his Hot Tuna bandmate Kaukonen jumping onstage near the end.

In the second half, Guip made his last appearance on “Come And Go Blues” and, later, The Better-Half Singers – Machan Taylor and Mini Carlsson – added harmonies to “Million Miles From Yesterday.”

A “Beautifully Broken” segued nicely into a sax-laden “Other One Jam” with Holloway, who stuck around for “Sco-Mule” and the set-closing “Feel Like Breakin’ Up Somebody’s Home.”

Gov’t Mule encored their 11th Island Exodus with “Yer Blues” featuring Ramsey.

Check out complete day-by-day setlists – as they appear in our Box Scores section – below:

Gov’t Mule
Jan. 19, 2020
Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus XI Runaway Bay, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica

Set I: Pigs On The Wing (Part 2), Mule, Rocking Horse, Monkey Hill, Kind Of Bird, Dig A Pony*, Bad Little Doggie, Little Red Rooster, When Doves Cry > I’m A Ram

Set II: Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, So Weak, So Strong, Trane > Maggot Brain (Dub Style)**, Painted Silver Light, Thorns Of Life, Two Trains^, 32/20 Blues^^

Enc: Traveling Tune

Notes:
*with Carl Broemel
**with Ron Holloway
^with Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson & Justin Guip
^^with Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, Justin Guip and Ron Holloway

Source: mule.net

Gov’t Mule
Jan. 20, 2020
Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus XI Runaway Bay, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica

Set I: Railroad Boy, Mr. Big, Mr. High & Mighty, Mr. Man, Bad Man Walking, Inside Outside Woman Blues, Streamline Woman, Girl With No Self-Esteem, Devil Likes It Slow*, Devil Girl, Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys**

Set II: Broke Down on the Brazos> Tributary Jam, Knocking On Heaven’s Door^, Mr. Charlie^, Time to Confess, Thelonius Beck* Thorazine Shuffle

Enc: Lucky^^, Sad And Deep as You^^^

Notes:
*with Ron Holloway
**with Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson and Ron Holloway
^with Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady and Justin Guip
^^with Carl Broemel
^^^with Carl Broemel and Tyler Ramsey

Source: mule.net

Warren Haynes
Jan. 21, 2020
Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus XI Runaway Bay, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica

In My Life, Listen To The Lions, A Friend To You, Beat Down The Dust*, From The Morning**, All Through The Night**, Time (The Revelator)^, You Ain’t Going Nowhere^, Melissa^^

Notes:
*with Cody Dickinson
**with Carl Broemel & Tyler Ramsey (Concert Debut)
^with Cody Dickinson, Carl Broemel & Tyler Ramsey
^^with Luther Dickinson

Source: mule.net

Gov’t Mule
Jan. 22, 2020
Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus XI Runaway Bay, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica

Set I: Hammer & Nails, Slackjaw Jezebel, I Think You Know What I Mean > When The Levee Breaks > I Think You Know What I Mean, Which Way Do We Run?, Opium*, Reblow You Horn*, Revolution Come Revolution Go, Slow Happy Boys**, Help Me > Good Morning Little Schoolgirl > Help Me^

Set II: Unring The Bell, Endless Parade, Soulshine, Come And Go Blues^^, Banks of The Deep End, Million Miles From Yesterday^^^, Beautifully Broken > Other One Jam*, Sco-Mule*, Feel Like Breakin’ Up Somebody’s Home*

Enc: Yer Blues%

Notes:
*with Ron Holloway
**with Jack Casady
^with Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady
^^with Justin Guip
^^^with Machan Taylor &, Mini Carlsson
%with Tyler Ramsey