By Cédric Vernet 
📌 Théâtre Antique de Vienne 📅 July 17, 2025
After a successful edition of Jazz à Vienne (with more than 222,000 festival-goers), the Théâtre Antique de Vienne hosted an exceptional concert with a rock legend who has lost neither his voice nor his fire: Robert Plant. And it was Ana Popovic who opened that evening, for a one-night-only performance, making the audience in Isère even luckier… Blues Actu was there and tells the story.
Ana Popovic, a soulful and girl-power opening act
Dressed in a flamboyant peacock-shaped gown, Ana Popovic set the stage ablaze for 45 uncompromising minutes with a line-up mixing the American and European versions of her new project Fantastafunk (we talked about it here). From the instrumental intro and Rise Up, the tone was set: a soulful show where the horns (Claudio Giovagnoli on saxophone and Davide Ghidoni on trumpet) and organ (Michele Papadia) wrapped the Stratocaster of our Serbian-born blueswoman in a constant groove.
She rolled straight into Fire Over Me, Stranger, and a rallying Never Give Up the Fight, dedicated to all those who refuse to give up. With Queen of the Pack, she saluted business women around the world, a feminist nod that the audience cheered.
A quieter moment? Yes, but only to catch a breath: a sublime jazzy cover of Tom Waits’ New Coat of Paint, where her pianist and the horns made the blue note resonate in a venue where jazz has echoed for decades. Ana took a long solo, but didn’t forget to showcase her musicians, especially the great Jeremy Thomas on drums. Professional, tight, brassy — maybe too much for some — but overall a wonderful opening set.
The set closed with a shuffle, Brand New Man, before ending with a prayer: We Can Change the World. Ana greeted the audience and thanked Robert Plant, who was watching from the wings.
Robert Plant & Saving Grace: the art of suspending time
The mood changed. Lights dimmed, the musicians of Saving Grace took the stage. The banjo of the excellent Matt Worley introduced the set, followed by Tony Kelsey’s mandolin, Barney Morse-Brown’s cello, and Oli Jefferson’s percussion. With such a line-up, you immediately understood from the first notes that this concert would be unlike any other. Robert Plant keeps reinventing himself, even approaching his 77th birthday. The Théâtre Antique became a cathedral when Plant whispered The Cuckoo — an English traditional song dating back at least to the late 18th century — his voice caressing the ancient stones: “She’s a pretty bird”… chills guaranteed.
What quickly stood out was how comfortable Robert Plant looked, clearly happy to be there, stepping back to showcase this ensemble and often praising the “Voix d’ange” of Suzi Dian, reminiscent of his collaboration with Alison Krauss (though without ever blending the two repertoires).
He then moved into Angel Dance, a Los Lobos cover he recorded with Patty Griffin in 2010. This time, it was magnified by the harmonies of Suzi Dian. The magic continued with Ramble On, Move Along Train, and the brand new Too Far From You, replacing It Don’t Bother Me at the last minute on the setlist.
Robert Plant was visibly moved by the welcome and even tried some French: “Merci bien! Bonne soirée!” he said before delivering a dreamy and mysterious version of Down to the Sea, very different from the one on his 1993 album Fate of Nations. Then he reminded us he once led one of the greatest rock bands in history with an explosive take on Four Sticks (from Led Zeppelin IV), where tribal percussion, echoed by the audience’s clapping, made the Théâtre Antique tremble.
« It’s a lovely place… how much time had you have this? »
The journey continued with Everybody’s Song and As I Roved Out (two unreleased tracks from the upcoming Saving Grace album, out September 26), before a pause where Robert Plant praised this “lieu magnifique” without losing his humor: “It’s a lovely place… how much time had you have this?” And when a spectator shouted “Robert!”, he replied in English: “Oh no, he’s not here tonight, I’m standing in for him.”
The concert ended with a cover of fellow veteran Neil Young (see our recent live report here) and a semi-acoustic version of Friends, a Led Zep standard.
The encores began with a gem: The Rain Song (another Led Zeppelin piece) in a stripped-down version where Plant’s voice floated above the stones. The finale resurrected Lead Belly, one of his lifelong inspirations, with Gallows Pole, somewhere between gospel and folk trance. Perhaps a nod to Jimmy Page, with whom he recorded the song several times (on Led Zeppelin III and No Quarter). Enough to keep hope alive for a (partial) reunion someday?
Two generations, two visions. Ana Popovic brought the fire of blues-rock tinged with soul, while Robert Plant led his audience into the poetry of universal folk infused with Eastern accents. At 76, his voice still carries that moving warmth we’ve known since 1968. Saving Grace truly represents a new chapter for a musician who refuses, time and again, to repeat himself. The Théâtre Antique was not sold out to celebrate this legend — and for once, the absentees were truly wrong to miss it.
