Robert Plant to play Sligo Live festival with band Saving Grace

Led Zeppelin frontman, Robert Plant will be playing Sligo Live in October as part of a blues-folk band called Saving Grace which also features Suzi Dian on vocals.

Other members of Saving Grace are Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone, acoustic guitar) and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic, baritone guitars, cuatro).

Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, 22nd July at 10am at sligolive.ie.

Formed in 2019, Saving Grace first performed publicly later that year and played one of their earliest shows in Ireland in 2019, when they performed in the intimate surroundings of Saint Nicholas’ Church, Galway.

The band had plans in place for a US tour in 2020. However these shows never went ahead. Instead, the band returned to the stage for a run of UK shows in the Spring of 2022.

Sligo Live producer, Rory O’Connor said: “We are privileged to have Robert Plant’s latest musical venture play Sligo Live this year.

“His stature compares favourably with anybody we have hosted over the years, with a career spanning Led Zeppelin, Page & Plant, Band Of Joy, The Space Shifters, his duet albums with Alison Krauss and now Saving Grace with Suzi Dian and the band.”

While being interviewed on BBC Radio 2, Plant was asked whether he’ll release an album with Saving Grace or potentially a live recording with the band,

“Saving Grace is a bunch of friends back from on the Welsh borders, Worcestershire, and we do shows, very discreet, undercover shows,” Plant said.

“It’s a beautiful sound, a magnificent sound and it’s delicately tiptoeing its way to one day being yet another thing that we mustn’t know or talk about … so yes.”

Since forming in 2019, Saving Grace has received numerous acclaims for their live shows including from Bob Harris who called it “one of the best gigs I’ve seen in years” to Toni Woodward, Americana UK who perfectly summed up the ethos of the cooperative by saying:

“These five musicians have produced a supreme ninety minutes of music with considered interpretations of others’ compositions, ensuring they present an innovative exploration of the songs whilst maintaining their true essence. Furthermore, this odyssey has been undertaken in the spirit of appreciation, musicianship, and exultation: they truly are a band of joy.”

Sligo Live programmer, Willie Kelly said: “Since we first heard about Saving Grace in 2019, they jumped to the very top of our wish list for Sligo Live Festival.

“Not only is it thrilling to bring a true legend like Robert Plant to Sligo, but musically Saving Grace are exactly at the heart of what we love doing here at Sligo Live.

“We’re really so excited about this one, I think it’s going to be a night long remembered in Sligo.”

Saving Grace describe their acoustic-based material as “music inspired by the dreamscape of the Welsh Marches” with dynamics that range “from a whisper to a scream.”

They join a Sligo Live Festival line-up which includes Gavin James on Oct 21st in the Knocknarea Arena, The Seeger Sessions Revival also on Oct 21st in the Hawk’s Well Theatre, Dylan Moran on Oct 23rd in the Knocknarea Arena, Paul Brady on Oct 28th in the Hawk’s Well Theatre, two nights with Tommy Tiernan in the Knocknarea Arena on Oct 28th and Oct 29th and West Ocean String Quarteton Oct 30th in the Hawk’s Well Theatre.

Tickets for all gigs are on sale from Sligolive.ie, Ticketmaster and the Hawk’s Well Theatre box office in person or by phone (071) 916 1518.

For festival details and regular announcements log onto: www.sligolive.ie, follow us on Twitter @sligolive, Instagram @sligolive or Facebook www.facebook.com/SligoLiveFestival.

Saving Grace will perform on Sunday, October 30th.