Watch: Robert Plant Supports ‘Saving Grace’ on NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk,’ Performs Led Zeppelin’s “Gallows Pole”

Photo: Tim Oldham

On Friday, Robert Plant supported his new album, Saving Grace, with an intimate live performance as part of NPR Music’s beloved Tiny Desk Concert series. The performance clocked in five songs, representing a career-spanning mix of material that ranged from lauded features for his latest studio effort to a piece of his Led Zeppelin history. 

In the video, which has been uploaded to YouTube and embedded below, Plant appears alongside his bandmates, Suzi Dian (vocals, harmonica), Matt Worley (guitar, banjo, cuatro, background vocals), Tony Kelsey (guitar), Barney Morse-Brown (cello), and Oli Jefferson (drums), playing a stripped-down set of songs. 

Upon his arrival, Plant said, “This is just like Live Aid.” Joking, “I couldn’t hear myself there either,” in acknowledgement of the lack of amplifiers. Turning to songs, the ensemble honors their latest work through the delivery of traditional, “Gospel Plough,” and sister track on the new release, a take on Moby Grape’s “It’s a Beautiful Day Today.” Interspersed between the two were “Higher Rock” and “Everybody’s Song.” 

From the covers above–pulls from the songbooks of singer-songwriter Martha Scanlan and Low, respectively–the group moves into a fresh take on Led Zeppelin III’s

“Gallows Pole.” The track is a homage to the great Lead Belly, who Plant recalls introducing him to the number, and “His memory has lived on in all of the music that I’ve been near and been touched by.” 

Plant released Saving Grace on September 26 and has been making the rounds in support of his latest endeavor. Watch his Tiny Desk Concert below.