Aberdeen locals will be telling this story for years, the night Robert Plant, one of rock’s greatest voices, quietly slipped into a city bar and turned an ordinary open-mic into something unforgettable.
After performing with Saving Grace at the Tivoli Theatre, Plant and his bandmates made their way to Under the Hammer in the city centre. Instead of just stopping by, they joined the session, offering up their own haunting rendition of I Bid You Goodnight.
For those lucky enough to witness it, the moment felt surreal. The voice that once shook stadiums was now filling a small pub, blending effortlessly into a community of local musicians. Open-mic host Jamie Rodden summed it up perfectly: “He didn’t make it all about himself—he listened, he respected, and then he sang. The voice is still there. It was unforgettable.”
Plant’s current project, Saving Grace, is an acoustic group he formed in 2019 with vocalist Suzi Dian and friends from the Welsh borders and Worcestershire. Known for their understated performances, the band has just wrapped a run of intimate shows across Ireland and Scotland.
Last year, Plant hinted in a BBC interview that Saving Grace might one day record an album, describing their sound as “beautiful, magnificent… delicately tiptoeing its way” toward something more. Until then, their surprise pub appearances may be the rarest treasures of all.
