Robert Plant and his Saving Grace Band indeed played a sold-out show at the Ryman on March 26, 2026, but the night before that, Robert Plant did a Q and A with the legendary rock journalist, David Fricke, followed by a short set with his band.
The GRAMMY Museum sponsored the intimate evening, which was held at the Riverside Revival in association with the Americana Music Foundation.
Since opening in 2008 in Los Angeles, the Grammy Museum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, has hosted over 2,000 public programs in Los Angeles and New York, featuring legendary and contemporary artists, including John Batiste, Nick Cave, Brandy Carlisle, Billie Eilish, Olivia Dean, Barbra Streisand, T-Bone Burnett, and so many more incredible musicians. However, this was the museum’s first show in Nashville.
Though Robert Plant is the biggest name on the cover of Saving Grace, the album is very much a group effort, with its title also serving as this new band’s moniker. The group members, all hailing from the English countryside near Plant’s home, were drawn together by a shared love of roots music —both vintage and modern—of blues, folk, gospel, country, and those tantalizing sounds that lie in between.
Interestingly, when Led Zeppelin was at its peak between 1969 and 1977, it never played in Nashville. Plant stated, “We were not welcome in a lot of places. Maybe it was a mistake of our agent, but it was tough, and we were in a hurry. It would have partly been based on what you thought about the music that was coming out of a city like Nashville.”
However, Zeppelin toured much of the US, where they discovered Chicago Blues, the Delta Blues, and Atlantic R&B. Artists like Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson also profoundly influenced Plant. Not only that, you can also hear vestiges of West and North African music, Middle Eastern music, particularly Moroccan, along with Celtic music in the sounds created by Robert Plant and his Saving Grace band.
Besides Plant, the Saving Grace band is fronted by the exquisite vocalist Suzi Dian. The band’s intimate sound is defined by a “song book of the lost and found” approach, with some songs dating back several centuries. The band features musicians Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone/acoustic guitars), and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic/baritone guitars).
The Saving Grace Band started as a private, discreet band near Plant’s home in England in 2019. The players had been working collaboratively for barely a year, even opening a handful of dates with Fairport Convention, when the pandemic intervened, and any formal plans to tour or release music were temporarily shelved.
But that setback proved to be positive as it gave Saving Grace time to marinate, grow, and find/create the voice that would define them.
They released their debut album, Saving Grace, a collection of cover songs and reinterpretations, on September 26, 2025. It features folk, blues, and Americana covers, including tracks originally by Low, Moby Grape, and Blind Willie Johnson.
Because the evening at the Riverside Revival was part interview, part music, the Saving Grace band performed an abbreviated setlist. From the album, they did “Gospel Plow,” “It’s a Beautiful Day Today,” “Higher Rock,” “As I Roved Out,” and “Everybody’s Song.” Then Robert Plant and Saving Grace graciously played the Zeppelin cover, “Ramble On.” A sample of the band can be found in this video, “Higher Rock,” from the BBC.
At 77 years old, Robert Plant has nothing left to prove. He has all the money, fame, and accolades any artist could ever need. Now, he plays and performs this mélange of music, with stadium shows no longer required. Having been literally all over the world, he picks and chooses the songs that speak to him (with some direction from the talented Suzie Dian). It is refreshing to witness. There’s nothing quite like it, anywhere.
Robert Plant and Saving Grace have tour dates scheduled worldwide. And yes, another album is in the works.
Bethany Writes 
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