Forget about his identity as the Golden God. Robert Plant continued his transformation into an artist more aptly deemed the “Mighty ReArranger” — the title of his 2005 album — on Wednesday at a sold-out Vic Theatre. Extending the adventurous streak he’s embraced for much of the past three decades, the singer and his exceptional Saving Grace band surveyed more than a hundred of years of music in a mesmerizing 90-minute show that haunted and enchanted.
Often singing in tandem with vocalist Suzi Dian, Plant imagined sonic vistas filled with sounds from Celtic hinterlands, British countrysides, West African deserts and the American Deep South. The sextet investigated songs’ earthiness, temperature and landscape as if they were fine wines meant to be savored. With seeming ease, the ensemble located connections between old English ballads, hard-rock anthems, country hymns and psychedelic ragas.
The curated batch of interpreted songs included multiple Led Zeppelin chestnuts. Those, too, received the roots- and folk-based treatments the band gave traditional works — as well as contemporary tunes by Martha Scanlan, Low and Sarah Siskind. Plant and company zeroed in on music about wandering and wondering. They instilled it with atmospheric mysticism and subdued intensity. Their explorations bore no hint of ego, no ulterior motive other than cracking open the possibilities of existing works and appreciating one another while doing so.
Robert Plant and Suzi Dian perform with Saving Grace at the Vic Theatre, Nov. 12, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
His signature curly locks cascading onto his shoulders, Plant beamed. He looked like he wanted to be nowhere else than on that stage with his crew from the Welsh Borders. The 77-year-old’s relaxed, cheerful disposition bestowed the set with a carefree vibe uncommon at high-level concerts, let alone those headlined by a legend. Saving Grace performed with absolute joy and sincerity. Remove the professional lighting and it was the cozy equivalent of watching a group that sets up in a semi-circle at a neighborhood tavern and starts jamming.
Except this band contains a virtuoso or two, especially string-instrument savant Matt Worley and cellist Barney Morse-Brown. Not that percussionist Oli Jefferson, perched behind a kit comprised of ‘30s era drums, or guitarist Tony Kelsey fell short. Along with Dian’s smooth, rich singing and spare accordion accompaniment, they provided colors, textures and accents that caused songs to dance as they spooked, mourned and contemplated.
His tone and timing nearly unassailable, Plant responded in kind. No longer generating the powerhouse wails and peak highs of his heyday, the former Led Zeppelin lead singer operated akin to a veteran major-league pitcher who must rely on craftiness once his blazing fastball fizzles. Plant painted corners and leaned into nuance, dealing in phrasing, delicacy and mood.
Indeed, has any singer so firmly associated with an iconic band charted a second-sct solo career as diverse and rewarding as Plant’s? Aside from an “MTV Unplugged” project with guitarist Jimmy Page in 1994 and a one-off Led Zeppelin reunion gig in 2007, the singer has concentrated on efforts distinct from the group with which he became an idol. A dozen studio albums plus several collaborative records, including two acclaimed LPs with bluegrass giant Alison Krauss, serve as a testament to Plant’s creative impulses.
Following stints with Strange Sensation, Band of Joy and the Sensational Space Shifters, Plant — shortly before the pandemic and already at an age where most of his peers lean on nostalgia — once again decided to change his surroundings.
An encounter between the singer and Worley at a pub planted the seed for Saving Grace. What started as a low-key affair attracted instrumentalists from the same British region who held an affinity for “lost and found” roots fare. They grew into a collective that played local shows and had no plans for an album. To record, Saving Grace initially met in a field with a microphone and went from there. Their eponymous debut arrived in September.
Robert Plant performs with Saving Grace and Suzi Dian at the Vic Theatre on Nov. 12, 2025.(John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Plant, who headlines an Old Town School of Folk Music benefit at Mauer Hall Thursday, remarked that Saving Grace was never supposed to be on tour. His awe that such an organic concept — essentially, friends with a common interest in music that fell through the cracks or time forgot — evolved into a going concern spilled over into his physical and verbal expressions.
The singer’s hands moved and clapped to the beat. His hips gently swayed to grooves. He pointed and snapped his fingers. He smiled, laughed, shouted encouraging instructions to his mates and relayed brief tales punctuated by his underrated sense of humor. Gazing at Dian as they blended harmonies on a refrain or shaded the other on a traded verse, Plant approached her as a conversational foil.
She took the lead on the scampering “Higher Rock,” a gospel number on which Plant pulled a harmonica out of his pocket and lit into a feverish solo that summoned raw, vintage Chicago blues. Dian provided similar vocal thrust on an aching “Too Far from You,” with Plant stepping in during the swirling coda. Their voices blended beautifully. On an expansion of Neil Young’s creaky “For the Turnstiles,” Dian introduced sturdiness to a shattered narrative.
As a seeker, Plant conveyed doubt, particularly on a probing rendition of the Depression Era spiritual “Soul of a Man” and rueful “As I Roved Out.” The latter joined “Everybody’s Song” in lashing out with threatening emotionalism. Plant sang with resilience and certainty even when using a quiet register. Mellowness infused a dynamic rearrangement of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” featuring motifs bearing passport stamps from Mali, the Middle East and Memphis. He further resorted to contrast and surprise on a refreshed “Four Sticks” by sandwiching lullaby moments between fits of grinding tension.
Robert Plant and Suzi Dian perform with Saving Grace at the Vic Theatre
on Nov. 12, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Save for reverb boosts and doubling echoes on some of his trademark albeit now-shortened moans, Plant sang unfiltered. His transparency and purity complemented the band’s spatial awareness. Strategic pauses, reverberating notes and integrated acoustic-electric rhythms shaped arrangements. Droning cellos, twangy banjos, brushed percussion and assorted guitars intermingled rather than competed. Songs breathed with a freedom from density, uniformity and busyness.
“Can you feel it?” Plant asked minutes before he put a clever spin on a portion of “Black Dog.” The crowd’s affirmative answer soon came loud and clear in the form of a recognizable refrain: Oh yeah, oh yeah. Ah, ah, ah.
Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.
Setlist from the Vic Theatre on Nov. 12:
“Gospel Plough”
“Higher Rock” (Martha Scanlan cover)
“Ramble On” (Led Zeppelin cover)
“Soul of a Man” (Blind Willie Johnson cover)
“Let the Four Winds Blow”
“Too Far from You” (Sarah Siskind cover)
“Four Sticks” (Led Zeppelin cover)
“It’s Beautiful Day Today” (Moby Grape cover)
“As I Roved Out”
“Everybody’s Song (Low cover)
“For the Turnstiles” (Neil Young cover)
“Friends” (Led Zeppelin cover)
Encore
“The Rain Song” (Led Zeppelin cover)
“Gallows Pole” into “Black Dog” into “Gallows Pole” (Led Zeppelin covers)
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