Warren Haynes swears Gov’t Mule was only supposed to last one album. “We were just killing time between Allman Brothers tours,” he laughs during our latest chat for Kyle Meredith With…. “One low-budget record, one quick tour, and we were done.” That was 25 years ago.
The new live set, Bring On the Music: Live at the Capitol Theatre, is more than just another concert album. It’s a five-and-a-half-hour multimedia deep dive into the Mule’s quarter-century run, directed by longtime collaborator (and occasional harmonica partner) Danny Clinch. “We brought out songs we hadn’t played in forever,” Haynes says. “Nothing repeated. No guests. Just five hours of Gov’t Mule.”
That includes the long-dormant Mr. Man, which now plays like a lost single getting its due. “Some songs just hit different in a different time,” Haynes says. “They finally get their moment.”
The idea of revisiting older material aligns with where Haynes sees Mule heading next. As they approach a new studio album — the first on the other side of their 25th anniversary — he says the writing’s landing somewhere between their earliest sounds and entirely new directions. “Some of it’s classic Mule, some of it’s stuff we’ve never done,” he teases. “Call it the foreword to the next book.”
They’re also hitting the road hard this year, including a few farewell tour stops with Lynyrd Skynyrd. “It’s the end of an era,” Haynes reflects. “We’ve known those guys forever — it’ll be special to share a few final shows.”
Of course, we also dipped back to 2017, when Haynes joined the show to talk about Revolution Come, Revolution Go, a record with political teeth that dropped the same year Trump took office. “We actually started recording on Election Day,” he recalls. “No matter which side you were on, everyone was surprised.”
The album came with a few musical detours, too — including a country-leaning Traveling Tune and the Al Green-inspired Sarah, Surrender. “We always try to explore new territory,” he says. “With so many influences, it’s about tapping into more of them each time.”
As for whether we’ll ever see an Allman Brothers tribute tour, Haynes says it’s unlikely. “There could be one-off tribute shows, maybe. But as a touring entity? I don’t see that happening.”
And maybe that’s for the best. After all, Gov’t Mule was once the side project. Now, it’s the main event.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the videos below.
