Robert Plant was the guest on The Colbert Report last night on Comedy Central. He joined his host for a conversation about his new album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, his endless musical quest, his love of poetry, and Arthurian legends. Plant then joined his band, The Sensational Space Shifters, for an on-air performance of the new album's first single, "Rainbow," plus a web-exclusive performance of the album track "Little Maggie." You can watch the interview and performances below.

This evening, Plant will engage in a TimesTalk at TheTimesCenter with the Times' chief pop music critic Jon Pareles. The event is sold out, but fans around the world can watch as the event is streamed live at timestalks.com starting at 6:30pm tonight.

Following the Colbert Report appearance last night, Plant and the band headed to Brooklyn for a special, late-night performance at Brooklyn Bowl to close out their fall North American tour.

"Reaffirming that the ever-adventurous Plant has used his legacy as a launching pad rather than a resting place," Los Angeles Times reviewer Lorraine Ali says of their tour stop at the Hollywood Palladium earlier this week, "the 66-year-old singer and his band the Sensational Shape Shifters fused new and old material with bluegrass melodies, Celtic percussion, African fiddle, spooky electronica and mike-stand-twirling rock ... The singer and his Shape Shifters succeeded in fusing an untouchable legacy with a passion for experimentation."

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters kick off the next leg of their UK tour in November. For details, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

To pick up a copy of lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar, head to iTunes or the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders include a free MP3 download of the complete album at checkout.

Check out the Colbert Report interview and performances here: