John Paul Jones Brings Led Zeppelin Back to Life at Big Ears Festival with Jaw-Dropping Performances of “No Quarter,” “Going to California,” and “Your Time Is Gonna Come” While Effortlessly Jumping Between Pipe Organ, Piano, Lap Steel, and Mandolin in a Mind-Blowing Reminder That Legends Never Fade
John Paul Jones dusted off some Led Zeppelin classics during his performance at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday.
The legendary bassist began his set on a very different instrument, the pipe organ. Rising up from underneath the stage in true Phantom of the Opera style, Jones opened with an impressive rendition of “Your Time Is Gonna Come.”
From there, he moved over to the piano, delivering “No Quarter,” the famous tune from Led Zeppelin’s 1973 album Houses of the Holy.
Jones continued switching up his instruments throughout the performance as he played various track’s from his famous band’s catalog. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer chose lap steel guitar for his rendition of “When the Levee Breaks,” piano for “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and mandolin for “Going to California.”
A partial set list, along with fan-shot videos and pictures from Jones’ performance can be found below.
When Was John Paul Jones’ Last Concert?
According to setlist.fm, Jones’ last concert took place on Sept. 5, 2019. That show was the last in a series of concerts with his project Sons of Chipotle, which also features acclaimed Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen.
Jones and Kattunen will perform a set together today at the festival, and Jones will team up with former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore for a set on Sunday.
Jones did make a pair of appearances after that, joining Dave Grohl and Josh Homme to revive Them Crooked Vultures. The supergroup played three song sets at both Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in 2022 — one in London, the other in Los Angeles.
John Paul Jones March 22, 2024 Big Ears Festival Partial Set List
1. “Your Time is Gonna Come”
2. “No Quarter”
3. “Down to the River to Pray”
4. “Ramble On”
5. (Unknown)
6. “Since I’ve Been Loving You”
7. (Unknown)
8. “Going to California”
9. (Unknown)
