Stage AE Hosts Southern Rock Jammers Gov’t Mule; ‘Once on This Island’ at CLO (Tues., 7/25/23)

1) Gov’t Mule led by the legendary singer/songwriter/guitarist Warren Haynes, is playing an outdoor show at Stage AE this month. They are reprising, their Dark Side of the Mule set which first debuted during Halloween 2008. The Pink Floyd tribute set will be retired after this tour. The set was also the basis for a 2014 live album. The tribute marks the 50th anniversary of the seminal Floyd album, The Dark Side of the Moon. Gov’t Mule is also touring in support of their latest album, Peace…Like a River, released last month. Its tracks demonstrate the versatility of the band. The group will perform a full concert of their songs too. The Mule started in ’94 as a side project for the Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody, who passed on in ’00. Haynes has led the band forward through an additional 26 albums, including 2021’s Heavy Load Blues. The Mule’s melodic guitar-drenched sound can be heard in songs like “Soulshine” and “Beautifully Broken.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (R.H.)

Gov’t Mule in Concert. (Photo: David Simchock)

2) A movie version has been in the works for a while, but given the usual development delays in Hollywood, why not see it here and now? Pittsburgh CLO presents the award-winning musical Once on This Island the way it’s meant to be done: live and in person, with live Caribbean-inspired music to fire up the songs. This mystical love story is set on an island where rigid, post-colonial class distinctions persist—and where the ancient gods still influence human affairs. When the gods of love and death disagree as to whose force is strongest, a test is arranged, wherein a young peasant woman is led to meet a young upper-class man. The outcome becomes the stuff of legend. Once on This Island, by Lynn Ahrens and (Pittsburgh native) Stephen Flaherty, premiered on Broadway in 1990 and scored a heap of Tony nominations but no cigars. Later, the London production won a Larry (Laurence Olivier) Award for Best New Musical in England, and the 2017 Broadway revival took the Tony for Best Revival. Pittsburgh CLO stages Once on This Island through July 30 at Benedum Center. Curtain time tonight is 7:30 p.m. 237 7th St., Cultural District. (M.V.) 

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