Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening honours the legacy of Led Zeppelin with a powerful Melbourne performance marking the final show of the Physical Graffiti set
by Paul Cashmere
For more than 15 years, Jason Bonham has carried the legacy of his father, John Bonham, onto stages around the world with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening. In Melbourne on 25 April 2026, that mission reached a milestone with the final performance of the band’s full presentation of Physical Graffiti, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s landmark 1975 album.
The Melbourne concert closed an 18-month run of shows dedicated to the double album, a record widely regarded as one of Led Zeppelin’s most expansive and ambitious works. Originally released at a time when the band were at their creative peak, Physical Graffiti blended hard rock, blues, folk and experimental studio techniques into a sprawling 15-track statement that has endured across generations.
Rather than follow the album’s original sequence, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening reshaped the running order to keep audiences engaged and guessing. ‘The Wanton Song’, originally placed on side four, was brought forward to the third position, while ‘In My Time Of Dying’ shifted slightly in the sequence. The high-impact pairing of ‘Trampled Under Foot’ and ‘Kashmir’, positioned as tracks five and six on the original album, were held back for a climactic close to the set.
Elsewhere, ‘Sick Again’, the album’s closing track, was repositioned mid-show, while ‘Boogie With Stu’ and ‘Black Country Woman’ were grouped into a more intimate acoustic segment. The restructuring worked to highlight the diversity of the album while maintaining narrative flow across the performance.
Part of the significance of this tour lies in the rarity of hearing much of this material live. Six of the album’s songs, ‘The Rover’, ‘Houses Of The Holy’, ‘In The Light’, ‘Boogie With Stu’, ‘Down By The Seaside’ and ‘Night Flight’, were never performed on stage by Led Zeppelin during their original career. Their inclusion here offered audiences a rare opportunity to experience these compositions in a live setting, interpreted with careful attention to the original arrangements.
The band itself delivered a meticulous recreation of the Led Zeppelin sound. Vocalist James Dylan channels the vocal range and phrasing associated with Robert Plant, while also bringing his own tonal edge at times. Guitarist Jimmy Sakurai not only mirrors the style of Jimmy Page musically but visually evokes the era, complete with the iconic double-neck guitar during key moments of the set. On bass, Dorian Heartsong carries the complex lines originally crafted by John Paul Jones, while Alex Howland expands the sonic palette by reproducing the keyboard textures layered into the studio recordings, elements that were often absent from Led Zeppelin’s live shows.
Jason Bonham anchors the performance from behind the kit, offering both technical precision and an emotional connection to the material. Throughout the evening, he also shared personal stories that added context to the music. He spoke about how his father would communicate musical ideas for songs like ‘Kashmir’, despite not playing guitar, bass or keyboards, by vocalising the parts to Jimmy Page. It was a reminder of John Bonham’s instinctive musicality and the collaborative nature of Led Zeppelin’s songwriting process.
He also reflected on stories passed down within the family, including recollections of his father’s early days as a singer before fully committing to the drums. These moments brought a sense of intimacy to a performance built on stadium-scale music, connecting the mythology of Led Zeppelin to personal memory.
Away from the Zeppelin catalogue, Bonham briefly touched on his broader career, including his experiences working with Phil Collins. He recounted an occasion where he found himself taking the spotlight during a performance of ‘In The Air Tonight’, adding a moment of humour and perspective to the evening.
The Melbourne show marked the end of this specific chapter for Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening. With the Physical Graffiti presentation now complete, the band is preparing to launch a new production, with the next tour scheduled to begin on 8 May in Alabama.
While the format may evolve, the purpose remains consistent. Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening continues to preserve and present the music of Led Zeppelin with a level of detail and respect that resonates with long-time fans and newer audiences alike. In closing out Physical Graffiti in Melbourne, Bonham not only honoured a milestone album but reinforced the enduring power of the catalogue his father helped create.
Setlist: Melbourne, 25 April 2026
Physical Graffiti (1975)
Custard Pie
The Rover
The Wanton Song
In My Time Of Dying
Houses Of The Holy
In The Light
Sick Again
Bron-Yr-Aur
Boogie With Stu
Black Country Woman
Down By The Seaside
Night Flight
Ten Years Gone
Trampled Under Foot
Kashmir
Whole Lotta Love (From Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
Rock And Roll (From Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
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