BRAINERD — The final event of the 2021-22 Central Lakes Community Performing Arts Center’s Cultural Arts Series will be Zeppo, a band of hard rockers who bring Led Zeppelin’s music to life.
“I’ll admit I was skeptical going in,” series producer Patrick Spradlin said in a news release. “I’ve heard a lot of tribute bands that just don’t measure up to the music they play. This was not the case with Zeppo. They are the real deal.”
The Led Zeppelin tribute band will perform at 7 p.m. May 14 at the Chalberg Theatre on the Brainerd campus of Central Lakes College.
Spradlin saw Zeppo at an arts conference in Milwaukee a few years ago. Spradlin describes the band as a group of very talented musicians who’ve chosen one of the most extensive catalogs of familiar rock hits in music history.
“These guys don’t try to make you think they are Led Zeppelin,” Spradlin stated. “They don’t wear wigs or costumes, no one tries to make himself look like Robert Plant or Jimmy Page or John Bonham. Instead, they just really do musical justice to Led Zeppelin’s music.”
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Led Zeppelin was formed in London in 1968; the English rock band consisted of vocalist Plant, guitarist Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer Bonham.
“The band's blues explosions frequently gave way to heavy folk, mystical psychedelic rock and orchestral detours — a testament to the U.K. group's versatility and willingness to push sonic boundaries,” according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame .
Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. The Cleveland-based museum's biography of the band states the band was "as influential" during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.
Plant is no longer performing with Led Zeppelin these days. Instead, he’s hitting the road with Allison Krauss, promoting the duo’s second collaborative album, “Raise the Roof.”
“Hard rock and heavy metal as we know it wouldn't exist without Led Zeppelin, one of the most popular and innovative rock bands ever,” according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s website.
Zeppo will perform songs like “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” “Kashmir,” “Whole Lotta Love,” “Immigrant Song,” “Good Times Bad Times” and the all-time rock anthem “Stairway to Heaven” as part of the band’s concert offerings at its college appearance.
“I don’t know anyone who listens to rock who hasn’t heard these songs,” Spradlin said. “This band has real musicianship and really brings it to the table with the way they play this music. You’ll hear these hits and other deeper catalog cuts from Zeppelin.”
Zeppo started as a “fun, casual jam session” in a basement in St. Paul in 2016, according to the news release, and the group has performed throughout the Midwest to packed audiences who appreciate not only their musical talents but their “down-to-earth humor and fun personality.”
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The group is comprised of John Eller, known for his previous work with Shiny Lights and Shabby Road Orchestra; Paul Boblett, who has performed with Fathom Lane and Faith Boblett; Terrance J. Fisher of Run Westy Run; Noah Levy, who has performed with Brian Setzer, the BoDeans and the Honeydogs; and Mark Mraz of the Mraz Brothers.
“While this is the last concert of the season, and my final appearance as emcee for this series, there will be music concerts this summer and the series will pick up again in the fall,” Spradlin stated.
The 2021-22 Central Lakes Community Performing Arts Center’s Cultural Arts Series began on Sept. 24 with the Fabulous Armadillos and the musical group’s homage to music from the Vietnam War era, “What’s Goin’ On?” in the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts in Brainerd.
Tickets for the May 14 concert by Zeppo are available through the CLC Theatre Box Office at 218-855-8199 or online at www.clcperformingarts.com .
