During their performance, Bonham and her band welcomed a very special guest to the stage, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant.
Plant joined Bonham and company for the last two songs of their set, renditions of a pair of classic Zeppelin tunes—“Thank You” and “Ramble On.”
As seen in fan-shot video, the 76-year-old rock legend introduced “Thank You” by sharing a humorous exchange he had with a female friend regarding the tune earlier that day.
“A lady friend said to me in the car today, ‘How old were you when you wrote that with Jimmy [Page],” Robert told the crowd. “I said, ‘12?’” Then, as the band began the organ intro to the song, Plant gave an apparent humorous nod to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” quipping, “Dearly beloved.”
Other guests onstage for the performances of the Led Zeppelin tunes were longtime Fairport Convention bassist Dave Pegg on mandolin, and two members of Plant’s current side group Saving Grace—singer Suzy Dian and guitarist Tony Kelsey.
After an inspired and emotive performance of “Thank You,” Plant thanked Pegg, pointing out that he used to play with Dave in the group Band of Joy back in 1967. Robert added, “He had hair [so long] he used to tuck it into his jeans. He was a mean mother—-er. Still is.”
Robert Plant will release his first album since 2021's Alison Krauss collaboration, Raise the Roof. Saving Grace arrives on Sept. 26 and marks Plant's first solo album since 2017's Carry Fire.
The nine-song LP, recorded with his new band Saving Grace, features covers of songs by Moby Grape ("It's a Beautiful Day Today"), Blind Willie Johnson ("Soul of a Man") and the Low Anthem ("Ticket Taker").
You can hear their cover of the Minnesota indie-rock band Low's "Everybody's Song" below. (Plant previously covered a pair of Low songs, "Silver Rider" and "Monkey," on 2010's Band of Joy.)
The upcoming album, Plant's 12th solo record, is named after the band he has performed with over the past six years: singer Suzi Dian, drummer Oli Jefferson, guitarist Tony Kelsey, banjo and string player Matt Worley, and cellist Barney Morse-Brown.
"We laugh a lot, really," Plant said in a press release announcing the album. "I think that suits me. I like laughing. You know, I can't find any reason to be too serious about anything. I'm not jaded. The sweetness of the whole thing ...
