Robert Plant honored ahead of RSD

Robert Plant is getting a new plaque in a record shop before he gets a new vinyl release in one. Record Store Day in the United States and United Kingdom named him a “Record Store Legend” ahead of this year’s event on Saturday, April 18, 2026, and posted video from Spillers Records in Cardiff as he oversaw the plaque installation. (recordstoreday.com) The honor lands a week before Record Store Day, which started in 2007 and held its first event on April 19, 2008. The organizers say the day now centers on roughly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com) Plant’s part in the day is not just ceremonial. He also has an official Record Store Day exclusive called *Saving Grace: All That Glitters… with Suzi Dian*, scheduled for April 18 as a 12-inch vinyl extended play record on Nonesuch. (recordstoreday.com) That release is small on purpose. Record Store Day lists 3,500 copies, which puts it in the limited-run lane that drives fans to line up early at local shops instead of waiting for a wide release later. (recordstoreday.com) The record has four studio tracks, and none of them are framed as old Led Zeppelin leftovers. The listed songs are “Blackest Crow,” “Poison,” “Orphan Girl,” and “She Cried,” and the release page describes the set as a continuation of Plant’s *Saving Grace* work with Suzi Dian and the band around him. (recordstoreday.com) That band has already been moving from side project to main project. Record Store Day’s separate listing for Plant’s full *Saving Grace* album says it is the first album built around his new band and gives it a September 26 release date on Nonesuch. (recordstoreday.com) So the April vinyl works like a shop-floor preview of where Plant is musically in 2026. Instead of using the day to repackage a classic catalog item, he is using it to introduce new recordings tied to the group he has been building with Suzi Dian. (recordstoreday.com) The bigger event is still designed around stores, not just releases. Record Store Day’s 2026 official list says the special titles arrive at participating shops on April 18 as part of each store’s own celebration, which is why local events matter almost as much as the records themselves. (recordstoreday.com) Australia is leaning hard into that part of the formula. Record Store Day Australia says the 2026 event also falls on Saturday, April 18, and its event calendar already shows live in-store sets, signing events, listening parties, and disc jockey sessions across cities including Adelaide, Melbourne, Bondi Junction, Reservoir, and Collingwood. (recordstoreday.com.au 1) (recordstoreday.com.au 2) A few of those listings read more like mini-festivals than shop promos. Rocksteady Records in Melbourne is advertising live sets from DC Cross, Billy Cart, Merpire, Nat Pavlovic, and Big League, while Soundmerch in Collingwood lists four live performances in one afternoon. (recordstoreday.com.au 1) (recordstoreday.com.au 2) That is the point of Plant’s “Legend” tag and his four-song vinyl showing up together. One gives the day a famous face, and the other gives fans a reason to walk through the door of an independent store on one specific Saturday instead of streaming the same songs at home. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2)