Robert Plant took the stage at the Lycabettus Theatre in Athens on Thursday night and refused to play "Stairway to Heave...

Robert Plant took the stage at the Lycabettus Theatre in Athens on Thursday night and refused to play "Stairway to Heaven," and the packed crowd ended up not wanting him to leave. The 76-year-old Led Zeppelin frontman performed with his band Saving Grace, including vocalist Suzi Dian, and took the show in a direction most people did not expect. The night followed an acoustic-roots path, blending Appalachian sounds, blues, Celtic textures, and gospel melodies rather than anything resembling the heavy rock Plant built his legend on. When someone in the audience shouted for "Stairway to Heaven," Plant shut it down with a dry British response: "Are you serious?" He did, however, revisit a handful of Zeppelin material, including reworked versions of "Ramble On," "Friends," "Four Sticks," "Black Dog," and "Rock and Roll," all reimagined in a rootsy folk framework that had the audience looking at each other in genuine surprise. The setlist also pulled from his latest album "Saving Grace," covers of Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles," and the Low song "Everybody's Song." Suzi Dian drew particular attention for her performance of "Orphan Girl," while the full band, including Matt Worley on banjo, Tony Kelsey on guitar, Oli Jefferson on drums, and Barney Morse-Brown on cello, gave the evening a chamber-folk intimacy that felt nothing like nostalgia. Plant has been open about his passion for Americana, and this was a full commitment to that vision. The show ended with the audience refusing to let the band leave the stage, which is about as clear a verdict as a crowd can deliver. #RobertPlant #Athens #LiveMusic