How Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones Came To Be Bandmates

One arguably could draw connections between Americana heroes Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch and the British hard rock band, Led Zeppelin, and its members, among them John Paul Jones. But there are countless more differences between the two acts that genre only begins to cover. Nevertheless, the musical world is a small one, and that often makes way for unusual but exciting collaborations.

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Such was the case for Welch, Rawlings, and Led Zeppelin bassist and mandolinist, John Paul Jones. The dark folk duo met the British rock legend at the MerleFest music festival in North Carolina in the early 2000s, and the three have remained friends and colleagues ever since.

Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, and John Paul Jones Meet

After Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, John Paul Jones became a prolific backing musician and producer for artists like R.E.M., the Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, Heart, and more. In 2004, Jones traveled with the Mutual Admiration Society, which included Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips and members of bluegrass outfit Nickel Creek. Along the way, Jones and the rest of the ensemble went to that year’s MerleFest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings were there, too, which is how they met Jones for the first time. “He was backstage with his wife, Mo, and had his mandolin with him,” Welch recalled to The Guardian in 2024. “John didn’t seem to have been invited to the after-hours jam, which was ridiculous, so we put them in the back of our Cadillac, drove up to the theatre, and even though we’d just met, spent the whole night hanging out, playing Monroe Brothers and Stanley Brothers songs.”

“He’s just so open and warm,” she continued, “loves music, and he’s such a bada**! Next time we toured in the U.K., he sat in with us and basically we just kept playing together and did a whole tour in the States. He traveled in the Cadillac. I’d say, ‘John, would you like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?’ He’d say he would. I’d make one, and we’d roll on down the road. They’re treasured memories. We love him.”

From Quick Jam Session To Lifelong Friendship

A lot of stars had to align for John Paul Jones, Gillian Welch, and David Rawlings to cross their paths at that exact moment in 2004. Perhaps most significantly, Jones had to be touring with a group that would bring him to a musical event like MerleFest. Then, Welch and Rawlings had to stick around long enough to realize Jones hadn’t received an invite to an after-show jam session—and then have the idea to bring him and his wife along anyway. It was a serendipitous moment for the musicians, who continued working together years later.

Rawlings invited Jones to tour with the David Rawlings Machine in the early aughts for A Friend of a Friend and Nashville Obsolete. Although Rawlings knew Jones was busy in the U.K. around the time he was thinking of going on the road for the latter record, Rawlings told The Bluegrass Situation, “Those had been really fun shows with JPJ, and so it crossed my mind that I should at least call him up and give him the right of first refusal. He was working on an opera, which is an enormous undertaking. The most expensive work of man, after war, is opera, they say.”

Jones ultimately agreed, and the group did three runs together. On the Led Zeppelin founding member’s 55th birthday, Rawlings made a tribute Facebook post to his “dear friend” that included a jaw-dropping cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” backstage at the Georgia Theatre.

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