Robert Plant joins Pearl Jam's hurricane benefit

Robert Plant is the former frontman of popular rock band Led Zeppelin. Picture / Herald file

LOS ANGELES - Robert Plant has joined the lineup of Pearl Jam's $1,000-per-ticket Hurricane Katrina benefit at the House of Blues in Chicago on October 5, a spokeswoman for the club said on Monday.

The former Led Zeppelin frontman is currently touring North America with his band the Strange Sensation, and will squeeze the show in between an October 4 stop in New Mexico and an October 6 date in Texas.

For Pearl Jam, the gig at the 1,300-capacity venue will mark the final show of its North American tour before it begins a Latin American leg in Santiago, Chile on November 22.

The spokeswoman said four luxury boxes priced at $25,000 each have already been sold. Net proceeds from the show will go to such organizations as the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, the Jazz Foundation of America and the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic.

Pearl Jam is not unfamiliar with the club. The band, apart from guitarist Stone Gossard, opened for the Who at a charity show in 2003, while Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder did the honors when the Who headlined in 1999.

- REUTERS