Get The Led Out bring "The Mighty Zep" to Joliet's Rialto on April 1

The Philadelphia-born Led Zeppelin tribute plays the Rialto Square Theater on a Thursday night in spring.

There's no Robert Plant impression, no fake mustaches and no attempt to look like 1973. What Get The Led Out offer instead is the records, played the way they sound on the albums. On Thursday, April 1, 2027, they bring that to Joliet.

The band plays the Rialto Square Theater at 7:30 p.m. The date was announced November 3, and tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster for a theater that holds 1,966. April Fools' Day is the date, but there's nothing to joke about in the booking: a Zeppelin tribute in a nearly 2,000-seat room is a serious night out for the south suburbs.

Get The Led Out formed in the Philadelphia area in 2003, and their approach is what sets them apart from most tribute acts. They aim to recreate Led Zeppelin's studio recordings, including the overdubs and sound effects, rather than impersonate the band on stage. That's a harder job than it sounds. A lot of Zeppelin's best-known songs were built up in the studio with layers of guitar, keyboards and effects that four people can't play at once. Get The Led Out bring enough players to cover them.

Not an impersonation. The records, played the way you remember them.

The show is billed as "A Celebration of The Mighty Zep," and the band is out on a busy 2027 run. It includes The Plaza Live in Orlando on March 10, a few weeks before the Joliet stop. Nights like that tend to draw a crowd that spans generations: people who wore out the vinyl the first time around, and their kids who found the songs later.

For Chicago Suburbs and Northwest Indiana readers, the Rialto makes this an easy call. It's a downtown Joliet theater, a lot simpler to get to for much of the region than a trip into the city, and its size suits a band that wants every guitar part to land in a room built for sound. A Thursday 7:30 start keeps the night manageable for anyone with work the next morning.

What should you expect from the set? Since the band's whole point is playing the records faithfully, the deep catalogue is fair game alongside the classic-rock staples. If you've ever wanted to hear the studio arrangements of these songs, extra guitar parts included, played at volume in a theater, this is the kind of show that delivers it.

There's also a practical reason to move early. Tribute shows in large theaters often sell to older, plan-ahead crowds, and the best seats in the middle of a hall like the Rialto tend to go well before the spring. If you want to be close enough to watch the guitar work, buy now.

Then spend the next few months with the albums. Pick your favorite, play it loud, and decide which song you're hoping to hear live on April 1. Chances are it'll be there.

Sources: Get The Led Out - A Celebration of “The Mighty Zep” @ The Plaza Live on 3/10/27 (WMMO) (wmmo.com); Get The Led Out (Florida Theatre) (floridatheatre.com); Tickets: Get The Led Out at Rialto Square Theater (Ticketmaster) (ticketmaster.evyy.net); JamBase: Get The Led Out at Rialto Square Theater (jambase.com)