Robert Plant is back with his first album since 2007’s six time Grammy Award winning “Raising Sand”. Picking up where the critically acclaimed roots rock of “Raising Sand” – which sold 700,000 in the UK and 3 million worldwide, scooping the Grammy for Album of the Year – left off, “Band of Joy” was recorded in Nashville with a stellar cast of musicians.

A timeless plunge into authentic Americana, the album was co-produced by Plant and Nashville legend and guitarist Buddy Miller. “Buddy’s integral to this album, you can hear his taste all over the instrumentation,” enthuses Plant. “Buddy’s zone is beautiful, with a lot of reflections going back into mid-Fifties rockabilly, the singing fishermen and all the great country stuff, along with the soul and R&B from Memphis.”

As well as Miller, the Band of Joy is made up of multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, who provides the mandolin, guitar, accordian, pedal, lap steel and banjo lines, country singer-songwriter Patty Griffin who adds the main vocal foils to Plant’s lead parts, while Byron House plays bass and percussion comes from Marco Giovino.

“Band of Joy” features intriguing new interpretations of songs from a wide range of sources. Opening with a throbbing rendition of Los Lobos’s ‘Angel Dance’, the album encompasses the glittering drone-rock of Low’s ‘Silver Rider’ and ‘Monkey’, the Fifties-style country-gospel harmonies which transform The Kelly Brothers’ Sixties soul classic ‘Falling In Love Again’, the desolate banjo-driven interpretation of ‘Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down’, the transplanted English/Appalachian folk ballad ‘Cindy, I’ll Marry You Some Day’, and jangling blues imagery of ‘Central Two-0-Nine’.

Robert Plant’s most eclectic work so far, in a career that has constantly embraced the unexpected, it’s an album which takes in continents of influence and oceans of emotional depth, taking the explorations of “Raising Sand” into bold new territory.

Band of Joy will be released on September 13th. Plant and Band of Joy will hit the road this summer starting July 13th in Memphis Tennessee. Check out the dates and the album’s track list:

Band of Joy Track Listing:
“Angel Dance”
“House of Cards”
“Central Two-O-Nine”
“Silver Rider”
“You Can’t Buy My Love”
“I’m Falling In Love Again”
“The Only Sound That Matters”
“Monkey”
“Cindy I’ll Marry You Someday”
“Harm’s Swift Way”
“Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down”
“Even This Shall Pass Away”

Robert Plant and the Band of Joy Tour Dates:

July 13 – Memphis, TN – The Orpheum Theater
July 15 – Little Rock, AR – Robinson Center Music Hall
July 16 – Tulsa, OK – Brady Theater
July 18 – Albuquerque, NM – Sandia Casino Amphitheater
July 20 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theater
July 21 – Tucson, AZ – Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater
July 23 – Dallas, TX – Meyerson Symphony Hall
July 24 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 26 – Austin, TX – Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater
July 28 – Mobile, AL – The Saenger Theatre
July 30 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
July 31 – Miami, FL – Bayfront Park Amphitheater

New UK Tour Dates:

Sep 2 – London HMV Forum
Oct 26 – Cardiff St. David’s Hall
Oct 27 – Birmingham Symphony Hall
Oct 31 – Manchester Palace Theatre