Photo by Austin Friedline // Phierce Productions

On Jan. 15, 16 and 18, Gov’t Mule celebrated with their fans at their destination event, Island Exodus, at the Jewel Paradise Cove Resort & Spa, in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. Over the course of the event, Gov’t Mule was joined by John Scofield, Robert Randolph, Anders Osborne, Jackie Greene, Audley Freed, Jimmy Vivino, Ron Holloway, Rob Barraco, Robert Kearns and Jeff Sipe in what was called Gov’t Mule and Friends – Warren Haynes sat out for the shows in order to get some well-deserved rest following serious complications from Influenza A and COVID-19.

On Saturday, Jan. 15, Gov’t Mule and Friends got their first performance at the 13th annual Island Exodus underway with a cover of The Staple Singers’ “Hammer and Nails.” From there, the ensemble continued to rock through covers, jamming and uniting on iconic hits like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” the Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree,” Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It,” and more. They closed the opening frame with “Dreams” by The Allman Brothers Band.

The covers continued to flow as Gov’t Mule and Friends opened the second set with “One of These Days” by Pink Floyd. Highlights during the second set included a jam of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Good Morning Little School Girl” into the Band of Gypsys’ “Who Knows,” Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s “Cortez the Killer” with Osborne and a pairing of Robert Randolph & The Family Band’s “The March” and “Turn On Your Love Light” by Bobby “Blue” Bland with Randolph. After closing the second set of the first evening, they returned to the stage to encore with the second Young cover of the evening, “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

 
 
 
 
 
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The following day, Jan. 16, Gov’t Mule and Friends returned and immediately broke into a jam of “Walk On The Wild Side” > “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad” > “Franklin’s Tower.” Next, Jackie Greene joined on vocals and guitar for Gov’t Mule’s 2001 song “Beautifully Broken.” They then gave a nod to Jamaica’s own Bob Marley with a rendition of “No Woman No Cry” which flowed into “Bend Down Low.” Other covers, like “Maggie’s Farm,” ensued before they rounded the set out with “Black Widow Spider.”

 
 
 
 
 
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The second Sunday set opened with a pairing of Jeff Beck covers: “Cause We Ended As Lovers” and “Freeway Jam” before Gov’t Mule and Friends moved into “Many Rivers To Cross” by Jimmy Cliff. They continued with “Deal” and Young’s “Vampire Blues,” before closing the frame with the namesake of their 2017 LP Revolution Come…Revolution Go which flowed into a cover of The Beatles’ iconic song “Revolution.”

They encored with “Going Down” before taking the next day off to enjoy the natural beauty of Jamaica. During their day off, a fan Tweeted, “Well this doesn’t suck. @thewarrenhaynes wish you were here my friend. Your friends are doing you right!!” to which the band replied, “We couldn’t say it any better.”

The final performance by Gov’t Mule and Friends Island Exodus experience (Jan. 18) kicked off with a jam by Gov’t Mule’s core members: Matt Abts, Danny Louis and Jorgen Carlsson – the jam gave way to “Afro Blue.” The set carried on and got fans moving with James Brown’s “Gonna Have A Funky Good Time (Doin’ It To Death)” before they played a pairing of “Ohio” > The Neville Brothers’ “Fiyo On The Bayou.” The energy of the show was kept at a high elevation with a few more covers, including Little Milton’s “That’s What Love Will Make You Do,” Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” and before they closed the frame with “The Letter” an original by The Box Tops and made famous by Joe Cocker.

The final full set of Island Exodus Gov’t Mule and Friends opened with a cover of Billy Cobham’s “Stratus.” Next came a pairing of The Band’s “Genetic Method” and “Chest Fever.” They kept the hits rolling out with Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” into a penultimate cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway” before closing with yet another cover from The Band’s discography, this time, “Shape I’m In.”

For their final encore in Jamacia, Gov’t Mule and Friends took the opportunity to send messages via their song choices. First, they played Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” a clear reference to Haynes, who was greatly missed over the event, before closing with Cocker’s “With A Little Help From My Friends” as a thank you letter to the guest musicians who joined the band throughout their stay.

Find full setlists below.

Gov’t Mule
Jewel Paradise Cove Resort & Spa – Runaway Bay, Jamaica
Jan. 15, 2023

Set I: Hammer and Nails, What Is Hip?,  The Harder They Come, Bad Little Doggie, If Heartaches Were Nickels, Sugaree, Simple Man, Baby Don’t You Do It, 32-20 Blues, Dreams

Set II: One of These Days, 30 Days in the Hole, Good Morning Little School Girl > Who Knows, Shot Gun, Soulshine, Cortez the Killer (with Anders Osborne), Voodoo Child, The March > Turn On Your Love Light (with Robert Randolph)

Enc.: Rockin’ in the Free World

Gov’t Mule
Jewel Paradise Cove Resort & Spa – Runaway Bay, Jamaica
Jan. 16, 2023

Set I: Walk On The Wild Side > Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad > Franklin’s Tower I’ve Got A Feeling Beautifully Broken (Jackie Greene – vox), No Woman, No Cry > Bend Down Low, Maggie’s Farm, Down By The River, Sco-Mule, Black Widow Spider

Set II: Cause We Ended As Lovers > Freeway Jam, Many Rivers To Cross, Deal, Vampire Blues, Revolution Come, Revolution Go> Revolution (The Beatles)

Enc.: Going Down

Gov’t Mule
Jewel Paradise Cove Resort & Spa – Runaway Bay, Jamaica
Jan. 18, 2023 

Set I: Mule Jam (Matt, Danny & Jorgen) > Afro Blue, Gonna Have A Funky Good Time (Doin It To Death), Ohio > Fiyo On The Bayou, That’s What Love Will Make You Do, Worried Down With The Blues, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, The Letter

Set II: Stratus, Genetic Method > Chest Fever, Dear Mr. Fantasy, West LA Fadeaway, Shape I’m In  

Enc.: Wish You Were Here, With A Little Help From My Friends