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Arroyo Seco Weekend 2018 In Review

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Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters (Credit: Jeff Penfield)

88.5 FM had a great weekend hanging out at Arroyo Seco as legendary artists, bands from all eras, and new favorites filled Brookside by the Rose Bowl in Pasadena with incredible music.

Here are a few of our highlights:

Robert Plant Mixes Led Zeppelin Favorites With New Music In Mesmerizing Set

Sure, Robert Plant can't hit the high notes anymore. That doesn't mean he can't wow audiences with updated renditions of Led Zeppelin classics like "The Lemon Song" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". A keen observer would note that both of those songs weren't true originals and Robert wasn't afraid to note that going into an updated version of the folky "Little Maggie". He let the members of the Sensational Space Shifters all get their individual moment in the spotlight too as they held the crowd's attention through the end of his Whole Lotta Love medley to wrap up the set.

Neil Young Knows How To Jam

When Neil Young kicked off his Saturday night headlining set with a 20 plus minute version of "Like An Inca", the audience could tell it wouldn't be a standard "just the hits" set. Taking advantage of Lukas Nelson's Promise Of The Real as his backing band, Neil could do what he does best and rock out as he closed out day one. By the way, he did get to hits like "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Ohio" as the set moved along.

Alanis Morrisette's Return

Did you know Alanis Morrisette hasn't performed a full set in Los Angeles since 2012? She basked in the glory of returning to a large stage with a hit driven setlist on Sunday. She energized the 2nd afternoon heading into Gary Clark Jr. to give the festival a little boost to get to the finish line.

Delightful Treats

Dwight Twilley, The Specials, Gomez, and The Revolution were among the musical treats that we don't get to see too often. Beyond that, Nic Adler curated an outstanding spread of dining treats from unique restaurants to craft beer. Fesitival organizers also brought on site NASA's JPL, Friends Of The Los Angeles River, and even had an on-site record store.

Tomorrow we'll be posting the on-site interviews we recorded with artists like Pretender's Chrissie Hynde, Gomez's Ian Ball, and more!

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