Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is hitting the road with a new band starting at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis in May, and he's using a song by a beloved old Minnesota band as a taste of what to expect.
Plant's new group, Saving Grace, posted a cover of Low's "Everybody's Song" on Tuesday to help promote their new batch of tour dates, including a May 12 show at the Pantages. Tickets ($50-$60) go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
Coming just a half-year after Plant wrapped a long tour cycle with the Sensaitonal Shape Shifters, this latest band by the Golden God again finds him duetting with a golden-voiced female vocalist, much as he did in prior outings with Alison Krauss and ex-girlfriend Patty Griffin. In this case, his partner is the relatively unknown Suzi Dian of the Birmingham, Ala.-based band Suzi & the Backbeats. Plant's new unit also boasts tinges of classical guitar and what sounds a lot like the vibe he created with Jimmy Page in their "Unledded" era of the mid-'90s.
Saving Grace played its first batch of dates in December, and there wasn't a single Zeppelin song in the mix. Instead, the group offered tunes by Donovan, Moby Grape, Levon Helm, Doc Watson, Jay & the Americans and Griffin, in addition to this Low song.
This is not the first time Plant has covered tunes by the Duluth trio. He also recorded a pair on his "Band of Joy" LP in 2010, "Silver Rider" and "Monkey" – each originally featured on Low's cult-loved 2005 album "The Great Destroyer," as is "Everybody's Song." Here's hoping Bob gets his hands on Low's last few albums, too.
Plant's gig was one of three rather sizable shows announced by First Ave Inc. for the May calendar on Tuesday, also including Liz Phair's Soberish Tour on May 9 ($35-$50) at the Palace Theatre and a Violent Femmes and X twofer on May 28 also at the Palace ($45-$50), also both on sale Friday but via eTix.com instead. How nice to have set ticket prices on these shows and know what they'll cost ahead of time.
