Gov’t Mule, photo by Dino Perrucci
On Wednesday, Gov’t Mule rode their Spring Tour into Des Moines, Iowa’s Val Air Ballroom. The latest staging from the Southern rock giants was their second alongside Americana sister-act Larkin Poe, whose distinctive slant on electric blues will pair powerfully with the Warren Haynes-fronted quartet’s for seven shared stagings in April. Last night’s show brought the first onstage collaboration from the traveling partners, with Larkin Poe’s Megan and Rebecca Lovell joining in on Gov’t Mule’s performance of “Blue Sky.”
Haynes, keyboardist Danny Louis, bassist Kevin Scott and drummer Terence Higgins (filling in temporarily for co-founder Matt Abts) set off their Iowa show by resurrecting “Bad Man Walking,” a cut from Déjà Voodoo that they hadn’t taken to the state since 2020. Further live essentials like “Brand New Angel” and “Endless Parade” arrived for their first performances of 2026, then the band put their spin on Ann Peebles’ blues standard “I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home Tonight.”
At their set’s midpoint, the group welcomed Larkin Poe for “Blue Sky,” and Megan Lovell’s lap steel and Rebecca Lovell’s guitar and vocals turned The Allman Brothers Band classic into a raucous celebration of the group’s shared tastes. Gov’t Mule scattered covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Effigy,” Robert Johnson’s “32-20 Blues” and Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” between originals in the last lap of their set set, then let their reinvented version of Al Green’s “I’m a Ram” ring out as the closer before an encore of “Soulshine.”
Gov’t Mule and Larkin Poe will move on to Farmington, Pa.’s Timber Rock Amphitheater, then ride one last Southwest sprint to a final split bill at Nashville’s The Pinnacle on April 22. Find Gov’t Mule’s full 2026 live calendar at mule.net, and find last night’s full setlist in the post below.
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