Ziggy Marley Rocks Texas Stage with Gov't Mule in Dreaming The Same Dream Tour Finale
Ziggy Marley joined Gov't Mule onstage in Irving, Texas on Saturday for the finale of their Dreaming The Same Dream Tour, taking vocals and guitar on Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself." The night featured Yola belting Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog," Texas nods to Freddie King and ZZ Top, and a Grateful Dead stretch with Ziggy's own bandmates. Gov't Mule next play a New Year's run starting December 28 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.
(ReggaeVibeMedia.com) - The Dreaming The Same Dream Tour ended in Irving, Texas on Saturday the way it deserved to: with Ziggy Marley and Gov't Mule sharing one stage and trading each other's songs like family. Marley took vocals and guitar on his father Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself," a song that had become a collaborative staple across the entire run, with Tracey Hazzard and Natasha Pearce on background vocals and George Hughes on B3 organ.
The night belonged to the jam. After opening with a trio of originals — "Mr. High And Mighty," "Brand New Angel" and "About To Rage" — the band tipped its hat to the Lone Star State with "Big Legged Woman (With A Short, Short Mini Skirt)," the Israel Tolbert tune Freddie King made his own, and ZZ Top's "Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings" from 1975's Fandango!
Then the guests arrived. British soul singer Yola, who had been singing Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" with the band throughout the dates, stepped up again — and the Mule rolled into "The River Only Flows One Way" and "Same As It Ever Was" before swinging toward Grateful Dead territory. Ziggy's own band members Adam Zimmon and Damon Grant joined on guitar and percussion for "Bertha" and "Fire On The Mountain," the Dead stretch where the tour's two worlds truly met — that loose, rhythmic groove sits closer to reggae than most rock fans might expect.
The quartet closed with "Mr. Man" and returned for an "Endless Parade" encore — a send-off that felt more like a family gathering than a standard double bill.
The Texas finale capped a run that had already taken the pairing through Austin earlier in the week, where Marley shared backstage smiles with Yola ahead of that gig. Gov't Mule aren't resting — their New Year's run opens at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on December 28 before closing out at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston on New Year's Eve.
One ticket, three worlds: a reggae icon's son, a Southern rock jam band and a genre-hopping soul singer, all playing each other's favorites. That's the kind of night that reminds you why the live show still matters.