Celebration Day Brought A Whole Lotta Rock and Roll to The Pageant
— by Carrie Zukoski
If you’re at all a Led Zeppelin fan, the tribute band Celebration Day is not to be missed. Even if you’re only a little familiar with Led Zeppelin, you’ll want to see the St. Louis-based Celebration Day, named after the third track from Zeppelin’s 1970 album, Led Zeppelin III.
Midwest Rewind caught them in action on Saturday night, the second of their packed concerts at The Pageant in St. Louis this last weekend of February. Frontman Mark Thomas Quinn commented that when Robert Plant performed at The Pageant in 2018, he saw Celebration Day’s setlist on a wall backstage and commented, “That’s a lot of songs.” And it is. Nothing but groovy, rockin’ Led Zeppelin songs cascaded over the all-ages crowd without a break for more than two and a half hours to everyone’s utter delight. One long-time fan noted this weekend was the best he’d heard them sound in quite some time.
(See all photos from the night: https://bit.ly/CelebrationDay26cz)
With 20 years under their belts performing Led Zeppelin’s music, Celebration Day has it down pat. With his long, wavy locks and svelte figure, Quinn even resembles a young Plant. Guitarist Jimmy Griffin, with his plethora of strings, brought out a double-necked guitar for “Tangerine” and “The Rain Song” as well as that trippy, magical theremin for “Whole Lotta Love.” In fact, Griffin’s double-neck guitar is the same brand/style Jimmy Page uses, as is much of the gear the members of Celebration Day use. John Pessoni’s amber Ludwig Vistalite drums, Dave Grelle’s Hohner Clavinet and Mellotron, and Cubby Smith’s Acoustic bass cabinets.
Grelle made sure to have a cowbell on hand, while Pessoni had his share of drum solos on his birthday eve. Smith may have mostly been in the shadows, but his bass skills shone throughout the night.
Lighting techs extraordinaire created an edgy, moody ’70s psychedelic ambience throughout the night, and our concert photographer played with her camera settings to try to evoke a similar feel.
It was a glorious night to bask in the classic bluesy-rock that blends large doses of psychedelic mysticism together that Led Zeppelin made famous.
Be sure to keep tabs on Celebration Day for the next time they perform out.
See all photos from the night: https://bit.ly/CelebrationDay26cz
Setlist https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/celebration-day/2026/the-pageant-st-louis-mo-7348defd.html
