Stevie Nicks Still Reigns in the Rain: Tampa Show Delivers Pure Icon Energy

Concert review: Stevie Nicks delivers a timeless performance in Tampa

The Fleetwood Mac legend still delivers the goods — and the goosebumps — with her one-of-a-kind voice.

By Mark Katches

Tampa Bay Times Editor

Photo: Roddy Belfatti

On a wet, dreary day in Tampa, it was left to Stevie Nicks to bring us into the light.

And, boy, did she ever.

The hall of famer breezed onto the stage Sunday, mostly recovered from the fractured shoulder that delayed her Florida tour stops by 14 weeks.

Nicks’ primary instrument needed no mending — that unmatched, unmistakable breathe-only-through-your-mouth patented voice of hers.

At 77, she remains mesmerizing and enchanting. A total goddess, spreading goosebumps like fairy dust.

Some great singers can raise the hairs on your forearms every now and again. Try evoking that reaction from your audience five times a song. That’s the indelible Nicks quotient.

A packed house greeted her enthusiastically as she grabbed hold of a microphone stand wrapped in sequined scarves and launched into the 1950s classic “Not Fade Away.” How fitting that an icon such as Nicks, who has inspired so many modern-day singers for her style, stage presence and songwriting, would open with music from one of her early influences, the great Buddy Holly.

She wore high black boots, a long charcoal skirt and blonde hair permed like it could be 1980 all over again.

Nicks is not a prolific songwriter, but she manages to make them count. “When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know,” she crooned during a near flawless version of “Dreams,” the first of four Fleetwood Mac songs she would offer.

We’re half a century removed from when she joined Fleetwood Mac as her romantic partner Lindsey Buckingham’s plus one, before emerging as a primary focal point. Buckingham and Nicks had dropped out of college at San Jose State (my alma mater … go Spartans!!) before recording together one barely noticed album. But Mick Fleetwood had heard enough to recognize something special about Buckingham’s finger-picking guitar playing. He was recruited to replace Bob Welch. Buckingham agreed to come along — but only if the band took his girlfriend, too. The rest, as they say, is history.

Just a few months ago, Nicks and Buckingham signaled a thawing in their topsy-turvy relationship, jointly posting on social media about their 1973 album being remastered. Will they reunite on stage? One can only hope.

The audience Sunday skewed younger than you might have expected. Mothers brought their daughters — yards of capes and lace bridging the generations. The blend of ages decked in shawls, fishnet and bolo hats underscored Nicks’ timeless appeal.

The last time Nicks was on Channelside Drive six years ago, she appeared with Fleetwood Mac, sans Buckingham, who had been kicked out. The band performed Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” with former Heartbreakers lead guitarist Mike Campbell newly minted as a member of Fleetwood Mac. She reprised the song Sunday and also played “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with her longtime collaborator Waddy Wachtel singing Petty’s part. When in Florida, you must bow down to Petty.

These are not grueling sets for Nicks. She plays the same 15 songs every three to five days. It’s a parade of hits — though “Leather and Lace,” “Sara” and “Silver Springs” were absent.

In their place, Nicks shared more personal anecdotes between songs — about music, relationships and life. I saw her in 1989 at the height of her powers, and she wasn’t nearly as engaged. As her career approaches an inevitable endpoint, she’s grown more reflective and introspective on stage. And it delighted the crowd.

She told one story that spanned more than four minutes about her first recording with Petty.

And she was the only one who didn’t seem to mind Sunday’s drenching.

“I made a fantastic video like about six minutes of the rain on my hotel window because it was so beautiful,” she told everyone. “I’m going to put it on loop, and I’m going to put it on when I’m going to sleep, and I’m going to sleep to that rain.”

Nicks has always projected a mystical aura — as someone who might actually twirl backstage around a boiling cauldron, tossing in crystals and eyes of newt. But in relaying her personal stories, she felt real and relatable.

Her set gained momentum in the home stretch, with “Stand Back,” “Gold Dust Woman,” “Gypsy” and “Edge of Seventeen” before concluding with impeccable encores, “Rhiannon” and “Landslide,” her anthem made all the more poignant as images of the late Christine McVie projected on the big screens. The entire arena sang along.

With the exception of “The Lighthouse,” recorded last year, every song was penned a lifetime ago. Nicks doesn’t need a lot of new music to stay relevant. Not when you’ve got that spellbinding voice.

And she’s still got it. I have the goosebumps to prove it.