Love Rocks NYC
Sachyn Mital

Robert Plant, Heart, Bill Murray, Mavis Staples & more @ Love Rocks NYC (pics, video)

Thursday night (3/7) was the annual Love Rocks NYC benefit at Beacon Theatre which raises money for charity God’s Love We Deliver. This year’s event was a marathon, four-hour show that featured star wattage and lots of surprises. Robert Plant was the headliner and treated the crowd to Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” and “Thank You,” a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Don’t” and brought out Taj Mahal, Heart’s Ann & Nancy Wilson, Sheryl Crow, and more. As for the Wilsons, this was their first time performing together in three years, a warm-up for their summer tour with Sheryl, playing “These Dreams” and “Crazy on You.”

Sheryl Crow, wearing a vintage Heart shirt, performed “If It Makes You Happy,” “Every Day is a Winding Road” and “All I Wanna Do,” and then brought out Lukas Nelson (who played his own set earlier in the night) for a cover of Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider.” Hozier brought out Mavis Staples during his set for “Nina Cried Power;” Mavis also performed “Wade in the Water.” ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, meanwhile, brought out Yankees legend Bernie Williams to trade licks on a cover of ZZ Top’s “Foxy Lady.”

More surprises: Bill Murray was on hand, and brought out fellow SNL alums Chevy Chase and Martin Short to goof around between sets, and Kevin Bacon was on hand for the same. The house band included Paul Shaffer and his onetime Late Night Orchestra bassist Will Lee. The evening finished with Plant, Taj Mahal, Grace Potter, and Lukas Nelson covering Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and then everybody came out for a rendition of Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright.”

Pictures from the night, including some red carpet shots, are in the gallery above, and some video clips are below.

photos by Sachyn Mital