By Scott McLennan

The long-anticipated pairing of Gov’t Mule and the Tedeschi Trucks Band turned out to be one of those rare moments when the live performance outshined even the promise on paper.

Tedeschi Trucks Band at Xfinity Center. Left to right: Susan Tedeschi, Issac Eady, Mike Mattison, Tyler Greenwell, Derek Trucks. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Bands love to name their tours. Tedeschi Trucks Band is traveling under the banner of “Live in 25.” Gov’t Mule let fans know that it is “Back in the Saddle” for the tail end of summer and fall.

But the five shows bringing together Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule for co-headlining concerts should probably have its own label, something like, “Well, It’s About Time,” “We’ve Been Waiting for This” or even “The Great Inevitable.”

Whatever you want to call it, the TTB/Gov’t Mule combo arrived at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield on Sept. 6 and delivered on whatever expectations one could possibly have had going in.

What makes this co-bill such a natural fit is that the guitar heroes in each band — Derek Trucks and Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes — have a shared history of playing together in the Allman Brothers Band from 2000 to 2014. Together, they reshaped and refined and arguably uplifted that classic group during its final stretch. Beyond that history, the pair share not only chemistry but also vision. Their respective bands are distinctive but complementary. It’s also inspiring to see how the relationship between Haynes and Trucks has grown over 25 years. Trucks has matured from young savant to formidable musician and bandleader. He and Haynes are now peers, on equal footing not only when it comes to talent, but also to how their sensibilities use that talent.

The highlight of the concert was its final stretch, when Haynes joined the Tedeschi Trucks Band to tackle the Allman Brothers Band’s epic “Dreams.” This turned into a lengthy guitar conversation between Haynes and Trucks before other elements of the TTB fell in line to elevate the song to the majestic heights it aspires to. The Allmans tribute continued with “Stand Back,” which prompted Haynes and Trucks to open up even more for some dynamic guitar exchanges as they combusted the fuel the other members of the TTB were tossing on the blaze.

Kevin Scott, Terence Higgins, and Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule at Xfinity Center. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Susan Tedeschi led the grand finale of “With a Little Help From My Friends” which added Mule’s keyboard player Danny Louis to the pageantry. Haynes, Trucks, and Tedeschi tapped into the sprawling rhythm ’n’ soul of Joe Cocker’s arrangement for the song. The performance highlighted the forthcoming release of Tedeschi Trucks Band and Leon Russell’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited: Live at LOCKN’ album (Arts Fuse review), which captures a 2015 celebration of the Cocker record and tour that inspired Trucks and Tedeschi to put together a 12-piece band.

But before that powerful exploration and celebration of legacy, each band played a 90-minute set illustrative of how those roots have grown.

Gov’t Mule, a band Haynes has kept active for more than 30 years, went on first and offered up a set that, while loaded with improvisational jams, seemed to have a structured flow to it. On this tour, Terence Higgins is filling in for founding Gov’t Mule drummer Matt Abts who announced he was taking some time off. Higgins’s background is in jazz and funk, but he also has had experience working with Haynes. He has adapted well to the Mule’s tougher sound.

Bassist Kevin Scott, who joined the band in 2023, is Mule’s new secret weapon. He covers every base of the rhythm game, jumping from pile-driving intensity to nimble accentuation.

Haynes led the Mule through three sturdy rockers — “Bad Little Doggie, “About to Rage,” and “Rocking Horse” — to open the show. The band then veered into deeper psychedelia on a stretched-out “Game Face” that absorbed a portion of the Allmans’ “Mountain Jam.”

Susan Tedeschi with Tedeschi Trucks Band trombonist Elizabeth Lea, trumpeter Emmanuel Echem and saxophonist Kebbi Williams at Xfinity Center. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Singers Alecia Chakour and Mark Rivers from the Tedeschi Trucks Band joined Gov’t Mule for the smoldering R&B lament “Stoop So Low.” “Revolution Come, Revolution Go” shifted the sound into a jazzier direction, and Higgins went off on a frenetic solo. “Banks of the Deep End” flirted with reggae before “Blind Man in the Dark” offered up one more big jam session, which brought out TTB’s saxophone player Kebbi Williams.

Gov’t Mule stuck to classic tracks, playing nothing off of its last couple of albums, ending its set with fan-favorite staples “Mule” and “Soulshine.”

Tedeschi Trucks Band likewise did a little bit of everything from its repertoire, including a couple of new, as-yet-unrecorded songs.

These 90-minute sets are a bit different for TTB, which usually either plays two lengthy sets that come close to three hours of music or longer headlining sets that approach two hours in length. It might not sound like a big difference but, in reality, these co-headlining shows tighten up the band’s performing chops in a few ways, and to good effect. Individual solos are crisper, the song selection can’t meander because it brings together deeper cuts and fan favorites, and every member of the band still gets to have a featured role at some point in the show.

TTB checked all those boxes in Mansfield, and not a bit of it felt formulaic.

Just as it closed with a nod to Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited, TTB likewise opened that way, offering up the urgent pop plea of The Box Tops’ “The Letter.” A notable shift in these co-headline sets is that Trucks immediately launches into his guitar heroics. Song after song presented a showcase solo from Trucks, who effortlessly moves between using a slide and fretting, covering his different tones and effects with ease.

The tighter focus of the set fit the nature of the new songs as well. “Who Am I” and “Future Soul’ are brisk, punched-up numbers. The former sounds like a variation on the band’s own “Midnight in Harlem” while the latter is a bit of searing soul rock that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in the heydays of Mott the Hoople or Bad Co.

Warren Haynes and Terence Higgins of Gov’t Mule at Xfinity Center. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Dr. John’s “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” was the set’s big showpiece. Singer Mike Mattison infused the song with appropriate grit, and drummers Isaac Eady and Tyler Greenwell ratcheted up the intensity as the song reached its powerful climax.

A Mansfield date is a homecoming for Norwell’s Tedeschi, and she returned to her musical roots with an incendiary version of her first big break-out song as a solo artist, “Just Won’t Burn.” She also sang a brilliant cover of Mike Reid’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” which she performed as duet with piano player Gabe Dixon.

Trombone player Elizabeth Lea stepped into the spotlight during “Ain’t That Something,” and trumpet player Emmanuel Echem took “I Want More” over the top during a frenetic duel with Trucks.

The lead-in to “Dreams” was also steeped in lore, as Chakour sang the haunting “It Ain’t Fair,” a song that Aretha Franklin recorded with original Allman Brothers Band guitarist Duane Allman.

The long-anticipated pairing of Gov’t Mule and the Tedeschi Trucks Band turned out to be one of those rare moments when the live performance outshined even the promise on paper.

Scott McLennan covered music for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from 1993 to 2008. He then contributed music reviews and features to The Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Portland Press Herald, and WGBH, as well as to The Arts Fuse. He also operated the NE Metal blog to provide in-depth coverage of the region’s heavy metal scene.