Latest News

It began, as so many great things do, over beers in an Irish pub more than a dozen years ago. That’s when Robert Plant and Buddy Miller first met and began talking — about music, of course. The topic, of all things, wasn’t blues or country but late 1960s West Coast psychedelia.

“To my surprise, he jumped right into a conversation about Love and Moby Grape,” Miller recalls, “a lot of the bands I grew up on. We talked for a long time. I guess he took my name away from that.” [Read more]

It could be the super-sized buckets of wine handed out at the bar but there’s a real sense of anticipation for this “secret” gig to unveil Robert Plant’s latest incarnation, as singer in moody blues and folk band Band Of Joy.

Now 62, the lion-maned wailer has resisted the $200 million temptation of a full Led Zeppelin reunion tour in favour of a deeper exploration of the Americana style and sounds of his Grammy-winning Raising Sand album with Alison Krauss. [Read more]

Robert Plant unveiled his new ‘Band of Joy’ album at a secret gig in the intimate environs of One Mayfair — a former church — in London on the evening of Weds, Sept. 1, with a half-hour set that displayed his ongoing love affair with American roots music.

Eschewing the bombast that made his name with Led Zeppelin, Plant tapped into a vein of American music that was entirely befitting of a man of 62 years of age. Joined by the Band of Joy — singer Patti Griffin, guitarists Buddy Miller and Darrell Scott, bassist Byron House and drummer Marco Giovino — Plant deftly displayed why a Led Zeppelin reunion. His performance conclusively proved that he remains one of the finest interpreters of other people’s material since Johnny Cash shuffled off this mortal coil. [Read more]

Robert Plant  songs have proven to be a collection of amazingly tasteful and constantly exploring efforts. Over the course of 30 years and more than a dozen studio albums, the former Led Zeppelin  frontman has created innovative mixes of rock, blues, country, folk, pop and world music, both alone and with a diverse list of musical collaborators. Okay, so we’re gushing. But here’s our list of the Top Robert Plant Songs. [Read more]

Robert Plant takes a road trip through all sorts of roots music on “Band of Joy” (**** out of four stars, out Sept. 14), his first album since “Raising Sand,” the Grammy Award-winning collaboration with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss.

The Led Zeppelin front man went into the studio with Krauss to begin recording a follow-up to “Raising Sand,” but the magical vibe the two created the first time out simply wasn’t there. Plant’s Plan B was to work with Americana stars Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin instead, and the results are spectacular. Miller’s dexterous guitar playing melds folk, soul, rock and country in equal measures, and Griffin’s impassioned vocals work extremely well with Plant’s. Another key player on “Band of Joy” is multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, who sweetens everything whether he’s on mandolin, banjo, accordion, pedal steel guitar or something else. [Read more]