Gov't Mule

A group that initially started out as a hobby for legendary rock guitarist Warren Haynes has grown into a band that has become etched into the North American festival culture. Prior to forming Gov't Mule in 1994 and releasing their self-titled debut album a year later, Haynes had spent six years as the guitarist in the reconstructed Allman Brothers Band alongside bassist Allen Woody. Haynes and Woody decided to form a jam band to play during downtime in between The Allman Brothers Band's touring and recording schedule. They recruited drummer Matt Abts, the trio having previously played together in the acclaimed Dickey Bett's band. In 1997, the absence of new material from The Allman Brothers Band prompted Haynes and Woody to launch Gov't Mule as a full-time project. The band's third studio album Life Before Insanity was released in 2000 and met with enthusiasm from music critics but unfortunately enjoyed only limited commercial success and was overshadowed by Woody's untimely death later that year. Haynes went back to playing with The Allman Brothers Band but maintained his commitment to Gov't Mule. Since then the band continued to grow, mainly through a series of interesting collaborations with other artists, and became one of the most popular rock acts on the US tour circuit. In 2017 they released their tenth studio effort, Revolution Come... Revolution Go, which peaked at Number 35 on the Billboard 200 and at Number 5 on the Top Rock Albums chart. Over the following years, the band issued the live album Bring On the Music: Live at the Capitol Theatre (2019) and explored their blues influences on Heavy Load Blues (2021), a critically acclaimed release that received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2023, Gov't Mule returned with Peace... Like a River, which included guest appearances by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Ivan Neville, Ruthie Foster, and actor Billy Bob Thornton.