Robert Plant’s Saving Grace To Perform At Bert Jansch Tribute In London
Robert Plant’s Saving Grace will line-up among the artists celebrating pioneering folk-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bert Jansch at a special one-off concert in London later this year.
The legendary musician would have turned 80 this year, and his legacy burns brightly. A widely-acclaimed box set on Fire Recordings last year collated his BBC Sessions output, offering an alternative timeline to his esteemed career.
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A perpetual innovator, Bert Jansch influenced several generations of guitarists and songwriters, many of whom will gather for the show at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 4 November.
Led Zeppelin always freely admitted a debt to Bert Jansch, and Robert Plant’s Saving Grace will appear at the tribute. Comedian Stewart Lee will act as compere, with Sam Lee, Sarathy Korwar, and more set to take part.
Also amongst the storied names confirmed for the show are long-time Jansch advocates Bernard Butler, Brigid Mae Power and Steve Gunn, and Kathryn Williams.
Elsewhere, James Yorkston will line up alongside Ranjana Ghatak, while Jacqui McShee – who played with Bert Jansch in Pentangle – will perform with Mike Piggott and Kevin Dempsey. Tickets for the event are available now.
A similar concert in tribute to Jansch was held in 2013 at the Royal Festival Hall, the set of which recalled the Les Cousins club in London’s Soho. That concert also featured Bernard Butler, Jacqui McShee, Robert Plant and Martin Simpson, as well as Ralph McTell, Donovan, members of Pentangle, Martin Carthy, Beverley Martyn, Lisa Knapp, Bonnie Dobson, Wizz Jones, as well as special recordings made for the show, including Neil Young covering Needle of Death.
Jansch had a long history of performing at the Royal Festival Hall: Pentangle’s first major performance took place here in 1967, and they recorded part of their Sweet Child album here in 1968. The original Pentangle line-up reformed to play the same hall exactly 40 years later, and it was a Pentangle show at the Royal Festival Hall in August 2011 that proved to be his last performance.
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