The Led Zeppelin tribute band Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience brought its spot-on Led Zeppelin show to Starland Ballroom on Saturday, November 4, 2017. The band’s two-hour plus set was a tour de force that showcased their own talent as musicians and also put the magic of Led Zeppelin on full display, illustrating why that band achieved the status that it did.
Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience recreates the power of a Led Zeppelin live show, not only visually from the outfits, the instruments and the stage mannerisms, but more importantly sonically. The band doesn’t just play Led Zeppelin, it plays like Led Zeppelin. Singer Matt Jernigan has the look, swagger and howl of Robert Plant down to a T. Guitarist John McDaniel has studied Jimmy Page so extensively that his fretting and pick attack on the strings are virtually identical to the way Page himself played. For the Led Zeppelin purist, this is a crucial detail that this band did not overlook.
The rhythm section of Adam Sandling (bass/keyboards) and Bevan Davies (drums) stays faithful to not only their instruments but also to their place on stage. John Paul Jones never stood out in front with Led Zeppelin but would instead stand next to the right side of John Bonham’s kit. Likewise with Sandling, who hung to the back of the stage all night with Davies, letting Jernigan and McDaniel work the crowd.
Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience is for the hardcore Zeppelin fan. The band plays various incarnations of the live versions that Zeppelin played, whether from The Song Remains the Same album and movie, the BBC sessions, the How the West Was Won live CDs and even bootleg versions. The hardcore fan will be able to pick them all out, and it’s great fun doing so.
The band thundered through a full collection of Zeppelin material and even included a sit-down acoustic set the way Zeppelin did during their shows. Standouts of the night included Rock and Roll, The Ocean, The Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Kashmir, Achilles Last Stand, Whole Lotta Love and Stairway to Heaven with McDaniel playing a cherry Gibson EDS-1275 doubleneck guitar.
Opening for Zoso were Triple Goddess, Ripped and Black Dawn. Triple Goddess got the night started with its heavy original guitar rock, pounding through its 30-minute set and getting the crowd going. This 4-piece formed in the suburbs between Atlantic City and Philadelphia. Their hard-hitting sound stems from their working class South Jersey roots and a wide array of influences spanning virtually every era of heavy rock music. Triple Goddess includes Frank Sacco (vocals/guitar); Bobby Andrews (drums); Matt Peterson (guitar); and Joseph Sacco (vocals/ bass).
Next on the bill was Ripped, a longtime original New Jersey power rock band. Ripped gets its sound from a two-guitar attack and songwriting that harks back to the heavy guitar rock of the 70s such as Alice Cooper, Mahogany Rush, Aerosmith, Budgie and April Wine. Ripped includes Steve Sroczynski (vocals); Steven Keller (guitar); Brian McGee (guitar); Colin Tisch (bass); and Bob Beucler (drums).
The final opener was Long Island, NY’s Black Dawn, which blasted through a tight set of its original metal. The heaviest band of the three, their sound crosses over to thrash. Black Dawn has been performing live music of the metal / heavy rock genre in the Long Island / NYC area since 1996 and cites Godsmack, Staind, Breaking Benjamin, Five Finger Death Punch, and Three Days Grace among their influences. Black Dawn includes Matt Kotten (guitar/vocals); Tom Kelly (guitar); Shawn Cox (bass); and Enzo DiPaolo (drums) -- apologies to Black Dawn for no photos… I had just finished my set with Ripped and was breaking down my drums during your set.
All photos by Bob Beucler except for the photo of Ripped, which was taken by Mitch Speert. For more photos from the show, click here for the piece in NJ Stage Magazine.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
