Over the 28 years and over 4500 shows since ZOSO came together as a group in the mid-‘90s, the seemingly tireless quartet continues to earn its well-deserved reputation as being, in the words of The L.A. Times, “head and shoulders above all other Led Zeppelin tributes.” The reasons for that are manifest.
Surely no singer has ever captured the distinctive timbre, range, power, and seductive force of Robert Plant’s vocal delivery as adroitly as ZOSO’s lead vocalist and founder, Matt Jernigan. ZOSO co-founder Adam Sandling, the band’s multi-instrumental master of electric bass, keyboards, and mandolin, likewise echoes John Paul Jones’ myriad gifts to a tee. What’s more, the band’s new blood has turbo-charged the ZOSO formula even more: Drummer Bevan Davies’ impressive pedigree includes the drum chair in Danzig, Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains, Static X, and regular gigs with The Cult’s Billy Duffy. Taking on the Jimmy Page chair for ZOSO in May of 2022, new lead guitarist James Volpe Rotondi brings an equally high-level CV to the table, as a former member of Humble Pie, Mike Patton’s Mr. Bungle, and French superstars AIR.
Still, while the players’ provenance, and the band’s deep history, speak for themselves, it’s that high- wire musicianship combined with ZOSO’s spot-on recreation of the mythic presence of Led Zeppelin onstage that keeps their dedicated longtime fans coming back for more year after year. What’s more, new generations of ZOSO devotees in their teens and Twenties are likewise lining up to experience for themselves the power and majesty—and yes, the alluring combination of danger, spontaneity, skill, and sexuality—that define a world-class Led Zeppelin concert.
“[ZOSO is] the closest to the original of any Led Zeppelin tribute,” proclaims the Chicago Sun-Times, and they are not wrong. ZOSO’s ongoing invitation to all generations, all ages, all backgrounds of Led Zeppelin fans, then, is a very simple one: Relive it . . . LIVE.
Tickets available at www.millertheateraugusta.com