Robert Plant / Alison Krauss w/JD McPherson at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO (2023-05-05)

Some rain and threatening skies had ruled the earlier part of Cinco de Mayo in Kansas City; but as if on cue, clouds had parted, and the evening was clear and cool outdoors at Starlight Theatre to enjoy the long-awaited return of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss in concert.

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The evening began with a succinct and musically tight opening set from Oklahoma native JD McPherson and band, whose rockabilly and roots rock leaning, provided the ideal spark plug as a precursor to the main event. Managing to work in eight songs in just thirty minutes, his “no time to waste” approach was similar to when we last saw live, headlining in Minnesota in the late summer of 2017.

Openers “Bossy” and radio hit “North Side Gal” had patrons dancing in their chairs and his homage cover of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” kept the straightaway momentum in high gear. With a “Lucky Penny” that was anything but, and finisher “Let the Good Times Roll”, it was obvious the crowd wanted more, and will just have to catch him next time through, likely at Knuckleheads.

The only regret we had was that playing an outdoor during early Spring, meant it was too far away from the holidays to hear selections from his fine Christmas album, “Socks”.

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For Robert Plant and Alison Krauss fans, the wait had been almost a decade and a half for the pair to reunite, in support of their second collaborative album, 2021’s “Raise the Roof” (on Rounder/Concord Records), the follow up to 2007’s “Raising Sand” which swept all five Grammy Awards it was nominated for. Our collective patience was rewarded with this tour and a diverse yet cohesive ninety-minute set of songs that raided deep into the vintage record racks and showcased the vocal synergy between the two, that still remains entrancing.

The setlist itself was a bit of a music history lesson, heavily drawing on their versions of covers from modern-day bands like Calexico, to legends like The Everly Brothers, to more familiar Led Zeppelin classics turned on their Bluegrass and Americana side. Most people likely weren’t familiar with 1950’s single “Rich Woman” from New Orleans’ Lil’ Millet and His Creoles which began the set, but hearing this updated version with those harmonies, likely stuck the tune in people’s heads, even days later.

Krauss took the lead to cover a somewhat obscure 1966 Everly Brothers cover, her black dress fluttering in the early Spring wind and voice soaring out into the night on its “that’s the price of love” chorus. Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” was re-invented into a swinging barn dance version, with Delta Blues-esque guitar work by McPherson, doing double duty with both bands on this tour.

Similarly, their ingrained version of Page & Plant’s “Please Read the Letter” has become so comfortable sounding and harmoniously soothing, that it’s easy to forget the original, especially as embellished by Krauss’ expert fiddle work. Krauss took lead again for 1968’s “Trouble with my Lover”, originally cut by soul singer Betty Harris. The groovy laid-back sound of 1966’s “Searching for My Love” kept things mellow yet moving and the pace would next pick up with an extended medley built around Plant’s own early solo hit, “In the Mood”.

The Lucinda Williams version of Randy Weeks’ “Can’t Let Go” swung gently, powered by the upright six-string bass of Dennis Crouch and multi-instrumentalists Viktor Krauss (brother of Alison) and Stuart Duncan. The duo’s harmonies were again showcased on Led Zeppelin’s “The Battle of Evermore”, basically proving the point that Krauss would own the songs if she ever attempted an acoustic cover album of Zeppelin classics.

The main set-closing “When the Levee Breaks” was stripped of its Zep arena bombast and brought back to its 1929 rural juke joint essence, interjected with some dark fiddle work from Krauss and Duncan, riffing in parts of Zeppelin’s “Friends” and with dark sounds to conjure fire and brimstone, like vintage 16 Horsepower would do.

“Can you feel it?!” Plant exclaimed as the band jumped back onstage for a two-song encore, beginning with a bouncy 1958 Ray Charles cover which featured a fine mandolin solo. They couldn’t leave without one more- the peppy 1964 Everly Brothers hit, “Gone, Gone, Gone” and then after extended applause and a few bows, the band was just that- “really gone, done moved on”.

It may not have been Mexican-themed nor was there a “roof to raise” at this outdoor venue, but Robert Plant and Alison Krauss made this Cinco de Mayo night in Kansas City, one to remember.