with JD McPherson
“These are songs that have gone into our hearts way back in time, but got lost in the twists and curves of the passing years,” says Robert Plant. “You hear them and you go ‘Man, listen to that song, we got to sing that song!’ It’s a vacation, really—the perfect place to go that you least expected to find.”
In 2007, Plant and Alison Krauss released Raising Sand, one of the most acclaimed albums of the 21st Century. It was an unlikely, mesmerizing pairing of one of rock’s greatest frontmen with one of country music’s finest and most honored artists, produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett. It entered the Billboard 200 at Number Two and was certified platinum, and it won six Grammy awards, including both Album and Record of the Year.
After fourteen years, the two icons reunited with Raise the Roof. Earning three 2023 Grammy nominations and unanimous acclaim, these dozen songs have extended this remarkable collaboration in thrilling new directions – from performances on the illustrious stages of Bonnaroo, Forest Hills Stadium, Glastonbury, the Greek Theatre, Red Rocks and far beyond, to appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CBS Mornings, PBS NewsHour, CMT Crossroads and more, to 2024’s Can’t Let Go Tour, which will see the duo once again return to North America for nearly 40 dates this spring and summer.
With Raise the Roof, Plant and Krauss were determined not to simply replicate a formula. “We wanted it to move,” says Krauss. “We brought other people in, other personalities within the band and coming back together again in the studio brought a new intimacy to the harmonies.”
The duo’s intention had always been to continue the momentum of Raising Sand. “There was so much enthusiasm, excitement and adrenaline that it would have been folly if we didn’t keep going,” says Plant. “We did join up and consider songs, try to work out some ideas, but then somebody would ask if I’d want to take my band to the Arctic Circle—‘OK, I’ll do that, call you back, Alison!’ And then she goes off and gets another Grammy. We’ve both constantly made new recordings.