Led Zeppelin North American Tour Spring 1970
Led Zeppelin's Spring 1970 North American Tour was the English rock band’s fifth North American outing. It ran from March 21 to April 18, 1970, and included 28 shows (29 had been planned). The band started this run shortly after finishing their European tour and it proved financially successful, grossing over $1.2 million and setting attendance records in Montreal and Vancouver. During the tour, the band was made honorary citizens of Memphis.
The concerts were not without trouble, as crowd-control problems and clashes between fans and police reflected the tense atmosphere in the United States at the time, with anti-Vietnam War demonstrations ongoing. The band even faced hostility in places, including restaurant refusals of service and an incident in Texas where a gun was drawn on them. Robert Plant later spoke of these experiences and used them as inspiration for reflective lyrics on That’s the Way, which he wrote after the tour and would appear on Led Zeppelin III. This tour also saw guitarist Jimmy Page’s 1960 Gibson Les Paul “Black Beauty” stolen in Canada; the guitar was recovered in 2016.
Stone the Crows were initially announced as the opening act, but that arrangement was canceled, and from this tour onward Led Zeppelin performed without supporting acts. The Las Vegas date, scheduled to be the final show, was canceled due to Plant’s voice strain.
The typical set list featured encores, with some substitutions, order changes, and variations from night to night.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:23 (CET).