ROCK royalty Robert Plant returns to the town he once called home tonight (Wednesday, April 17) for a gig with his new band.

The former Led Zeppelin frontman is part of Saving Grace, a musicians collective inspired by the ‘dreamscape of the Welsh Marches’ which has lined up the surprise show at Monmouth School’s Blake Theatre.

Plant based himself in the area when he lived in Penallt in the 1980s and recorded at Rockfield Studios.

He was a regular at the Nags Head pub and frequently returns to the town to meet old Rockfield bandmates, such as Paul Martinez who played with a reunited Led Zeppelin at Live Aid in 1986 and joined him again for a charity gig at the town’s Bridges centre in 2011.

As well as Martinez’s brother Ray, other musicians who joined Plant in the ‘village hall’ gig eight years ago included Mott the Hoople’s Verden Allen, local rocker Dave Edmunds and Martin Chambers of The Pretenders.

Saving Grace, which also includes Suzi Dian, Tony Kelsey, Matt Worley and Oli Jefferson, made their debut earlier this year at several low-key gigs before three dates supporting legendary folk rockers Fairport Convention in February.

The music is described as “laid back and bluesy with eastern and folk influences”, and is inspired by ‘the dreamscape of the Welsh Marches… from a whisper to a scream.”

Plant isn’t the only music star appearing in the town, with Irish folk legends The Fureys playing a sold out show at the Savoy on March 29, and guitar maestro Albert Lee due to appear at the same venue on Wednesday, May 29.