Duo share take on Led Zeppelin IV classic to mark start of longtime collaborators’ summer tour
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have shared their rendition of “When the Levee Breaks” to mark the recent launch of the duo’s summer tour.
The track — a Memphis Minnie cover, of course, popularized by Led Zeppelin’s IV — is Plant and Krauss’ first single since the longtime collaborators released their Raise the Roof in 2021.
On the recording, Plant and Krauss are joined by guitarist JD McPherson, drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Dennis Crouch, string player Stuart Duncan (who delivers this version’s fiddle solo), and multi-instrumentalist Viktor Krauss.
“When the Levee Breaks,” a live mainstay for the duo, is one of a handful of Zeppelin tracks that feature on Plant and Krauss’ setlist since their tour kicked off June 2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma; other Zeppelin classics they’ve performed include IV’s “The Battle of Evermore” and “Rock and Roll,” as well as a medley that includes “Gallows Pole.”
The setlists, however, are unlikely to ever include “Stairway to Heaven,” even though Plant ended his 16-year hiatus from performing that song earlier this year. Asked by Rolling Stone in February if fans could expect “Stairway” on the summer trek, Plant said, “I don’t think I’ll be doing that, but I don’t know. Who knows? Something could change somewhere. Spirit and heart could come back in the soul. It’s a long song. Who can remember all those words?”
Plant and Krauss’ summer tour continues Friday in Prior Lake, Minnesota, and runs through September 1 in Vail, Colorado. Along the way, Plant and Krauss will also hitch a ride on the roving Outlaw Music Festival, headlined by Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan.