Robert Plant’s Saving Grace featuring Suzi Dian: 2025 Concert Review

Robert Plant and Saving Grace, with Suzi Dian, in Denver, November 2025 (Photo by Roger Len Smith, used with permission)

Robert Plant has undeniably enjoyed one of the most remarkable and consistent solo careers of anyone from the classic rock era. Few of his peers have exhibited as much variety and musical integrity as the former Led Zeppelin singer. Throughout his decades-long solo career, Plant has delved into all kinds of roots-based music, from American blues to country-folk, gospel, early rock and roll, Middle-Eastern sounds, African and world beat rhythms and traditional music from across the world. Never one to rest on his laurels, rather one who has forged new and unexpected musical paths, Plant has led a lot of different bands in the process.

From his celebrated duets with Alison Krauss to the bands he’s fronted over the past 25 years—Priory of Brion, Strange Sensation, Band of Joy and the Sensational Space Shifters—Plant has always kept things moving forward. Now the singer has returned to Saving Grace, the band he started in England when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Plant’s knack for finding unheralded yet stellar musicians is on clear display as he teams with another great singing partner in Suzi Dian. The sextet appeared at Denver’s Ellie Caulkins Opera House on November 15, 2025, in the midst of their debut tour of North America.

Robert Plant and Saving Grace in Denver, November 2025 (Photo by Roger Len Smith, used with permission)

Combining traditional acoustic instruments with standard rock elements in a roots-heavy palette of sounds, Plant and Saving Grace have created a beautiful and hauntingly serene collection with the release of their self-titled debut album. This excellent recording reimagines several deep covers, spirituals and traditional folk numbers, intuitively joining Americana with elements of gospel, American blues, British folk and world beat. The band utilizes cello, accordion, percussion, baritone guitar and banjo, along with drums and guitars, for a hypnotic sound. Their obvious chemistry translates perfectly in concert as atmosphere reigns throughout and gives the show a dreamlike feel with superb dynamics, putting Zeppelin songs in a whole new light. The instruments, however traditional, mesh together in a modern-sounding blend, especially when their leader delivers his trademark high-pitched vocal shrieks.

The 77-year-old Plant is still in command of his rich tenor, his soulful range clear and strong. During his early years, Plant would sing, scream and shriek in his uppermost range, not only falsetto, but he abandoned singing in that extreme register while Zeppelin was still in its prime. Plant and the honey-voiced Dian are natural and charismatic together and create a tight vocal blend. Dian plays accordion, while Dian’s husband Oil Jefferson plays an expanded drum set with a variety of percussion. The band is rounded out by Tony Kelsey playing various acoustic and electric guitars, Barney Morse-Brown on cello and guitarist and banjo player Matt Worley.

While promoters rely on Plant’s name, it’s clear that he is content being in a band rather than just having them back him up. The stage backdrop is the cover of their new album, featuring a lone buffalo, symbolizing the freedom to roam. Coming barely a year after another successful album and tour with the acclaimed violinist Alison Krauss, Plant is clearly enjoying the company of these top-shelf musicians. Creating an overall dynamic and lovely sound, Saving Grace excels in putting a new spin on old favorites as well as resurrecting obscure chestnuts. Performing more than half of the new album, the band immediately slipped into a relaxed but emotive groove as if they’d just come from the recording studio.

[The Saving Grace album, arrived September 26, 2025, and is available in the U.S./worldwide here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.]

Opening the Denver show with the album-closing traditional “Gospel Plough,” the band set a solemn tone with a haunting take on the African-American spiritual. The warm acoustics of the opera house fit perfectly with the intimate yet driving force of the band, offering rich and sensitive attention to the material. The first Zeppelin tune of the night was a superb “Ramble On,” and the driving acoustic rhythm of the song not only allowed Plant and band to play with the dynamics, it enabled the hallowed tune to truly breathe, while the song’s cascading choruses roared. The band’s chemistry was evident from the start and Plant generously shared the spotlight, giving each member time to shine. Worley sang lead vocals on a stirring rendition of Blind Willie Johnson’s “Soul of a Man,” with Plant adding blues-drenched harmonica fills, much to the delight of the crowd.

A song from one of Plant’s other bands, the Strange Sensation, gave us “Let the Four Winds Blow,” while Dian switched to lead vocal and Plant harmony for the bittersweet ballad “Too Far From You.” The rarely played “Four Sticks” followed, a rollicking Zeppelin nugget from their fourth album, again to the obvious delight of the crowd. Plant has long made his love of San Francisco bands known, and they played a great version of Moby Grape’s “It’s a Beautiful Day Today,” another track from the new album.

Watch the band perform “It’s a Beautiful Day Today” at another stop on the tour

Intriguing covers of Minnesota alt-rock duo Low’s “Everybody’s Song” and Neil Young’s “For the Turnstiles” rounded out the set before the closer “Friends,” another underplayed early Zeppelin gem, provided a rousing finale. If there’s a criticism, it would be the length of the show, clocking in at only 90 minutes and 14 songs. With such a cohesive group and a true wealth of material to choose from, the show certainly could’ve been a bit longer.

The group returned for a double encore with a striking and stripped-down version of “The Rain Song,” the emotive ballad from Zeppelin’s album Houses of the Holy. Dreamy, lilting and powerful, it showcased Plant’s enduring voice and fit the band’s inventive approach. The second half of the encore was another acoustic Zeppelin jam, “Gallows Pole,” the traditional they turned into a driving acoustic rocker on Led Zeppelin III. Plant then segued into part of the classic Zep rocker, “Black Dog,” as he traded lines with the audience, which eagerly sang along. While the songs evolve, the voice remains the same.

Watch nearly all of the Denver performance here

Tickets for the U.S. and U.K. shows are available here and here.

Bonus video: Watch the group’s Tiny Desk Concert from November 2025

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Roger Len Smith

Roger Len Smith is a freelance writer and musician living in Colorado. Smith has lived in Austin and Southern California and has written for Relix, Rolling Stone, Spin, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Player, Jazziz, Santa Barbara Independent and various other publications. Over the years, he has interviewed many artists including Stevie Wonder, Sting, Bob Weir, Carlos Santana, Joe Strummer, Bonnie Raitt and more. Smith is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and is currently working on his seventh album. Additionally, Smith has produced and performed at many benefit concerts across the U.S.

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