After opening night at the Beacon Theatre saw Gov’t Mule jam with Jimmy Vivino and Marcus King, the band’s New Year’s celebration included some of the same characters along with numerous others.

Before the guests, or even the band would appear, it was Warren Haynes starting the night off with an appropriate rendition of his Ashes & Dust track “New Year’s Eve.”

The first guest of the night came at the close of the first set, as past Mule collaborator Oz Noy joined the fold on guitar for “Sco-Mule” complete with a “Smoke on the Water” jam.

The guest-heavy second set got started with Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” which welcomed in the new year featuring Haynes’ Allman Brothers bandmate Marc Quinones and the Chronic Horns. A group of backup singers then joined the fold including Jasmine Muhammad and the Sweet 16 Singers for an homage to the late Bernie Worrell with his own “Flashlight.”

The Funkadelic theme continued with “Red Hot Mama,” another debut for Mule and the tributes kept coming with Leon Russell’s “Tight Rope” and “Delta Lady” before Glenn Frey’s classic “Take It Easy” and the Eagles’ “Already Gone.” The emotional tribute set then turned its focus to Sharon Jones, who passed away on November 18 after a battle with cancer, with a take on her “100 Days, 100 Nights” with the same cast of guests that helped pay tribute to the rest of the musicians lost in 2016.

After “Midnight Rider,” Mule honored Keith Emerson and Greg Lake with ELP’s “Lucky Man” before Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (played without Mule’s Matt Abts or Jorgen Carlsson) and “Bird on a Wire.” The appropriately titled “Angel Band” followed and the tributes rolled on with Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star” and “Getaway.”

Appropriately, the massive tribute set closed with a nod to two of the most famous musicians lost in 2016, as Mule enlisted Jimmy Vivino, Chronic Horns, Muhammad and the Sweet 16 Singers for David Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes” and “Rebel Rebel,” played with just Vivino and Quinones. It was then time for Prince’s moment, with the set closing with all guests on “Kiss” and “Let’s Go Crazy.”

In the encore, it was Marcus King joining Mule, Jimmy Vivino, Quinones, Chronic Horns, Muhammad and the Sweet 16 Singers once again for a stirring tribute to Prince with a “Purple Rain” finale that included a reprise of Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes.”

Here’s a look at the setlist as it appears in our Box Scores section:

Gov’t Mule
Beacon Theatre New York, NY

Set I: New Year’s Eve*, Larger Than Life, Thorazine Shuffle > Funny Little Tragedy (with Message In A Bottle lyrics) > Thorazine Shuffle Reprise, Child Of The Earth, Which Way Do We Run, Brighter Days, Birth Of The Mule (with Hottentot tease)^ Sco-Mule (with Smoke On The Water tease)^

Set II: Maggot Brain (with Auld Lang Syne theme)^^ > Flash Light^^^, Red Hot Mama^^^, Tight Rope^^^, Delta Lady^^^^, Take It Easy^^^, Already Gone^^^, 100 Days, 100 Nights^^^, Midnight Rider^^^^, Lucky Man^^^, Hallelujah%, Bird On A Wire^^^^, Angel Band^^^^ > Mama Tried^^^, Shining Star^^^ > Getaway^^^, Descending%%, All The Young Dudes$, Rebel Rebel$$, Kiss$$$, Let’s Go Crazy$$$

Enc: Purple Rain# > All The Young Dudes (Reprise)#

Notes:
*Warren solo
^with Oz Noy
^^with Marc Quiñones & Chronic Horns
^^^First time played, with Marc Quiñones, Chronic Horns, Jasmine Muhammad & The Sweet ’16 Singers
^^^^with Marc Quiñones, Chronic Horns, Jasmine Muhammad & The Sweet ’16 Singers
%without Matt Abts & Jorgen Carlsson
%%with Marc Quiñones
$First time played, with Jimmy Vivino, Chronic Horns, Jasmine Muhammad & The Sweet ’16 Singers
$$First time played, with Jimmy Vivino & Marc Quiñones
$$$First time played, with Jimmy Vivino, Marc Quiñones, Chronic Horns, Jasmine Muhammad & The Sweet ’16 Singers
#First time played, with Marcus King, Jimmy Vivino, Marc Quiñones, Chronic Horns, Jasmine Muhammad & The Sweet ’16 Singers

Source: Mule.net