Eight Years of Nail City Record and One Unforgettable Visit from Robert Plant and Saving Grace

Last Thursday, October 30th, Robert Plant kicked off the first show of his North American tour — Robert Plant’s Saving Grace featuring Suzi Dian: Roar in the Fall with special guest Rosie Flores — at the Capitol Music Theatre in Wheeling, West Virginia. Two days before that, on Tuesday, October 28th, something remarkable happened. Robert Plant and his band walked into our record store, Nail City Record.

Through our work at the store, Molly and I have been fortunate to develop lasting relationships with label partners and music industry friends. So when it was announced that Robert Plant would be playing Wheeling, we started reaching out to friends. We had been hoping, with a bit of luck, to maybe have a few albums signed or to get a word in with management about our store, though with legends like Robert Plant, you never know. They go where they want to go, and do what they want to do.

Then came a call from our friends at the Capitol Theatre, who keep things running behind the scenes week after week. They asked if we could set up a turntable, speakers, and a collection of vinyl records for the green room backstage. We were thrilled. Curating record collections is something we’ve been doing professionally for five years now, with over 5,000 collections created for hotels, Airbnbs, and collectors across all levels of interest. Still, this felt different. This was Robert Plant.

We wanted to curate a collection that would hopefully inspire the band — music that would feel fresh but familiar, rooted but exploratory. The band had arrived in Wheeling two days early to rehearse for the upcoming tour, and we hoped our records might soundtrack a few of those moments. We delivered the setup to the theatre, left them to it, and waited, unsure what would follow.

Tuesdays are normally a day we are closed at the store — a day reserved for time off, or in this case catching up on orders from the previouse weekend without store traffic. We weren’t expecting company, let alone rock and roll royalty. Still, fate had its plans for us on October 29th.

While we were knee-deep in shipping boxes, we got another call from the Capitol: “Would you be interested in accommodating a few very important guests for a private shopping experience?” Of course we said yes. We started tidying up as fast as possible, expecting a little warning before they arrived. But Wheeling is small, and before we knew it, they were already there.

I was in the backroom when I heard unfamiliar voices in the hallway. When I stepped out, several people were standing there with curious looks on their faces — a common sight for first-time visitors trying to find our third-floor “speakeasy” of a record shop. Nail City Record occupies the top floor of an old office building constructed in the early 1900s. It’s the kind of place you find on an adventure; you climb narrow stairs or take a tiny elevator that makes you question if you’re in the right place, and then you find a maze of interconnected rooms filled with music and art.

As I emerged into the hallway, the members of Saving Grace filed in one by one, shaking my hand and introducing themselves. Each was friendly, kind, and curious about the space. As they came through, I noticed two people missing and thought to myself, “Where are Robert Plant and Suzi Dian?”

It turned out they had led the group upstairs and had been the first to arrive, drawn into our performance space — the first open door off the hallway — where a glowing 1959 Wurlitzer jukebox sat fully lit beside a projection of the concert film of Cream at Royal Albert Hall, 2005. When they stepped back into the hall, Suzi introduced herself, thanked us for having them, and joined the rest of the band. And then, there he was — Robert Plant, standing right in front of me in the record store that Molly and I built from the ground up.

He extended his hand and thanked me for the record collection. He said he couldn’t believe the selections we’d made, that several of the albums had caught his attention, and that after flipping through them in the green room, he simply had to come meet the people behind them. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Robert Plant was complimenting the records we’d handpicked for him.

Molly was around the corner greeting other members of the band, and I suggested we go find her so he could tell her about the albums that had caught his eye. Many of those selections came from her personal collection, and when he found out, he began telling us stories from his travels through Northern Africa — about writing “Kashmir,” about the landscapes and the people, and the inspiration that had shaped his music. He ended one story by saying, “My heart is in the Maghreb.”

The band spent more than an hour exploring the store, flipping through bins, talking music and travel. Robert asked me about Wheeling — its architecture, its history, its politics, and its music. He seemed genuinely interested in the city and spoke highly of his experience so far. We even shared a moment with Robert and Suzi geeking out over Sierra Ferrell — yes, if you’re reading this, Sierra, they’re fans.

As their visit wound down, we realized we wanted to send them off with something special. We gifted each band member a copy of Ananga Martin – Santa Ana, an indie folk album made right here in Wheeling by local musicians. For Robert and Suzi, we gave them the “Wax Mage” editions — hand-crafted vinyl in cloth pouches. They were deeply appreciative, calling them some of the prettiest records they had ever seen.

After gifting the records, Robert made sure Molly and I, along with two close friends, would be his guests at Thursday night’s show. I was both humbled and thrilled at being a guest of Robert Plant. But while this invite was happening we were still talking records and music. So, of course, I couldn’t resist asking if he’d ever heard of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. He hadn’t — so yes, I got to introduce Robert Plant to King Gizzard.

We showed him our in-house Nail City Record release Europe ’19, a compilation of live King Gizzard performances pressed on Wax Mage vinyl — a passion project inspired by The Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 and the bootleg culture that surrounded the Grateful Dead that is still celebrated in renewed sense in KGLW fandom. Robert was fascinated by the “vinyl renaissance,” as he called it, and by the way new artists are keeping that creative spirit alive.

The next morning, Wednesday the 29th, we arrived early to the store to prepare albums for signing. While we were waiting, Molly’s phone buzzed — a UK number. It was Robert Plant, calling to ask about a few records from the green room collection that he wanted to purchase. Of course, we couldn’t take his money, so we proposed a trade. Later that day, I dropped off 39 copies of Saving Grace on vinyl to be signed, along with one white-label promotional copy of Led Zeppelin III as our part of the exchange for a record out of our collection. While at the theatre, I caught a glimpse of their rehearsal and was absolutely blown away. The excitement in the city was already building, and I knew Wheeling was in for a treat.

The show on Thursday was everything we hoped it would be — sold out, electric, and full of life. Rosie Flores opened the night, still rocking harder than most at the age of 75. Her guitar tone was sharp and classic, and her trio carried the room with traditional rockabilly, surf, and old-school rock and roll energy.

Then came Saving Grace. The performance was stunning — intimate, spiritual, and powerful. The setlist that night included:

The Cuckoo
Higher Rock
Ramble On (Led Zeppelin cover)
Soul of a Man
Let the Four Winds Blow (Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation cover)
Too Far From You (Sarah Siskind cover)
The Rain Song (Led Zeppelin cover)
It’s a Beautiful Day Today (Moby Grape cover)
As I Roved Out
Everybody’s Song (Low cover)
For the Turnstiles (Neil Young cover)
Friends (Led Zeppelin cover)

Encore:
Four Sticks (Led Zeppelin cover)
Gallows Pole / Black Dog (Led Zeppelin cover)

Meeting Robert Plant beforehand changed how I experienced the concert. When he introduced Saving Grace members Tony Kelsey and Matt Worley as being from the River Severn region of Wales and mentioned the river goddess Sabrina, I couldn’t help but think about Wheeling — another community built on the banks of an ancient river valley, steeped in its own mythology. Both places sit in post-industrial landscapes where echoes of the past still shape the present.

When the band returned for the encore and Robert transitioned from “Gallows Pole” into “Black Dog,” he belted out: “I’m just trying to find the bridge — are you the bridge?” It was a perfect moment. Gallows Pole appears on Led Zeppelin III — the same album we traded — and the “bridge” line comes from The Crunge. But in Wheeling, at least to me, it meant something more.

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a historical landmark and is one of the oldest standing suspension bridges in the country, having been completed in 1849. The bridge, which can be viewed from the green room in the Capitol Theatre (Robert Plant has since shared an image of the bridge from the green room with the caption “Where is the confounded Bridge” on his social media accounts), is literally anchored to the bedrock beneath the theatre’s stage. It has been a symbol of Wheeling’s identity since before the Civil War — a physical and spiritual connection that binds the city together. And to that extent, yes, Mr. Plant: we are the bridge.

Robert Plant’s music has always been a soundtrack to moments in my life. Now, I’ll be listening even closer. This all happened the same week that Nail City Record celebrated eight years in business. We opened on October 31st, 2017, with the hope of building something meaningful in our community. To have one of the greatest icons of rock and roll walk into our store during that milestone week felt like the universe telling us to keep going. It was one unforgettable visit — a reminder of why we do what we do, and how music continues to connect us all.