Gov't Mule @ la Cigale, Paris - June 4th, 2019

It's been two years almost to the day since Gregg Allman went to jam with his brother, and perhaps that is why Warren Haynes, one of the Allman Brothers Band most famous alumnus, chose to open with Soulshine, the beautiful Gospel ballad he wrote for the band. Gov't Mule was formed when he was still playing with the venerable Southern Rock outfit but it quickly grew into something of its own. Fusing Hard Rock, Blues, Jazz, Soul, Funk, Progressive Rock and Country, they have been one of the best bands associated with the jam band scene for over two decades.

A Gov't Mule concert is an experience akin to that of a Grateful Dead show: a communion of musicians and like-minded souls who happen to be in the audience. There are no theatrics or pageantry, no sterile displays of virtuosity: just pure music, a constant flow of ideas and communication, exchanges and dialogues between musicians and attendees. 

Their fantastic songs like Broke Down On The Brazos are stretched out into long, lysergic jams that never feel gratuitous or indulgent. Instead, they are the purest expression of these musicians, pouring out their souls through their instruments: long sonic explorations, alternatively heavy and funky, a psychedelic trip through American music of the 20th Century and beyond.

They were joined at the end of their second set by Tyler Bryant, a young guitarist whose band The Shakedown is one of the most promising rock combos right now. The night ended the same way it all started: with the Blues.