Showing posts with label STEVIE NICKS 2022. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STEVIE NICKS 2022. Show all posts

Sunday, December 18, 2022

STEVIE NICKS 2022 MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE ONLINE 20% OFF

Official 2022 Stevie merch is 
available online now!

Take 20% off the entire site now through 1/2/23. Click the link to shop and use code: goodbye22. 




 

Friday, November 04, 2022

REVIEW Stevie Nicks Live in Woodlands, TX Nov 2, 2022

Stevie Nicks tells Woodlands crowd she has ‘no idea’ what the Astros play
Nicks is forgiven for not keeping up with sports. She's spent the last several decades cementing her status as a rock goddess.

By: Joey Guerra 


Steve Nicks had just finished a cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" when she gave the Wednesday night crowd at the Woodlands Pavilion some good news.

"The Astros won!" she said as the crowd cheered. Several people in the crowd were wearing Astros shirts.

A few minutes later, she made a confession.

"If I told you I had no idea what the Houston Astros play, would you believe me?" she asked. "But I know they must be good because they won."

Nicks is forgiven for not keeping up with sports. She's spent the last several decades cementing her status as a rock goddess. Her current tour is the first since before the COVID-19 pandemic, a time she says she survived thanks to Lily, a Chinese crested she got in Houston six years ago. Nicks dedicated "Landslide" to her "little soul mate" and brought Lily onstage to meet the crowd.

"I believe music can save the world. I believe that you can sit down with a Democrat and a Republican and have a great talk about music,"Nicks said. "Just turn up the music."

The late Petty, a longtime friend, figured heavily into Nicks' set. His songs preceded and followed her performance. She introduced "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around," her duet with Petty, with a story about how the song came to be. Nicks' then-boyfriend Jimmy Iovine was worried that "Bella Donna," her first solo album, didn't have a hit single on it and suggested the Petty song.

Images of Prince flashed on the screens during "Edge of Seventeen," a song rumored to have inspired his own "When Doves Cry." In turn, Prince's "Little Red Corvette" inspired Nicks' "Stand Back" and featured him on synthesizer.

Nicks was in strong voice and chatted frequently about the inspiration behind songs. She dedicated "Soldier's Angel" to those suffering in the Ukraine and said she recently recorded Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth," a call for peace, because of its renewed relevance. The band whipped "Gold Dust Woman" into an extended fervor that seemed to put Nicks into a trance, shaking her head vigorously and waving her hands.

There were Fleetwood Mac hits ("Dreams," "Rhiannon") and shawls. So many shawls. Black and gold and fluttering in the breeze as Nicks did her signature twirls across the stage.

"It just never ever gets old," she said. "Kinda like me." 

Thursday, November 03, 2022

REVIEW Stevie Nicks in Huntsville "It was like a dream-sequence or something"

If you weren’t at Stevie Nicks’ Halloween concert, you missed out


By Matt Wake

It was like a dream-sequence or something. Beneath a crescent moon and wearing a witch’s hat, Stevie Nicks told us, “Well, this is the best Halloween I can ever remember having.”

Which is akin to getting a high-five from Michael Jordan after sinking a jumper, or Steve Jobs saying that new idea of yours is pretty good.

Did this really happen in Huntsville, Alabama? Oh yeah.

There we were, 8,000 people at Orion Amphitheater, getting mesmerized by Nicks, rock & roll’s ultimate witch. And we mesmerized her right back.




Nicks played a sold-out show at Orion on the most Stevie of all nights, Oct. 31. Backed by her ace eight-piece band, she radiated the talent that made her the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first two-time female inductee.

That voice. Those songs. The star-power. They’re still there and in no short supply. Nicks is now 74. But ever since she was a 25-year-old ingenue on the “Buckingham Nicks” album she’s always seemed simultaneously young and old.

Onstage at Orion, her aura remained ageless. And unlike many male classic-rock singers, including a couple of my all-time favorites, she still sounds and looks like herself. Her crystal-velvet rasp is a bit more head-voice than chest-voice than it used to be. But she’s retained her range and tonal vibe and hits all the notes.

Nicks’ set was introduced by a dear, departed friend. Her intro tape blasted “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” the 1989 rock hit by Tom Petty, a collaborator and coolness colleague. It would not be the night’s last echo of Petty, who died in 2017 from toxicity-induced cardiac arrest at age 66.

The fact Nicks, who’s famously battled demons of her own, is still with us -- healthy, rocking and thriving -- is a gift. And there’s little doubt everyone at Orion last night, including her, appreciates that.

After house lights darkened, stormy visuals projected on an onstage video screen. Nicks’ band strode out and began grooving on “Outside the Rain,” a sashaying cut from her excellent 1981 debut solo album “Bella Donna.”

When Nicks walked out -- poised as you’d expect -- from the back of the stage, the crowd gave her a hero’s welcome. On her way to a scarf-adorned mic stand, she bid hello to her band and her audience. Her hair in long blonde curls, she wore a dark velvety long skirt and black top with spangles around the sleeves.

From the first note she sang, Nicks’ voice charged the electrons in the air. It’s a haunting, stirring sound. Even though she has her own rock heroes, including Janis Joplin, Nicks has never sounded anything like them. And no one since has sounded like Stevie Nicks either. She owns her frequency.

“Outside the Rain” is a good song. But when Nicks and her band segued directly into a great song, the Fleetwood Mac classic “Dreams,” the entire amphitheater seemed to levitate. All told, Nicks allocated five songs of her 16-song, hour-and-40-minute set to the band that first made her famous, back in the mid ‘70s.

Fleetwood Mac is a band full of supremely talented, unique musicians. But hearing Nicks sing a few Mac hits with her solo band made it clear whose magic put that band over the top, from blues-rock also-rans to stadium-crushing superstars.

[Before you angrily email me, of course I adore the musicianship of Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood too. But I’ve been to a Buckingham solo gig, in Los Angeles a few years ago right after he was sacked from Fleetwood Mac because of tensions with Nicks -- they were a couple back in the day, in case you’re from Mars -- and it was a spirited and good show. Buckingham’s a gifted, one-of-a-kind guitarist. But he didn’t leave his audience spellbound like Nicks does hers. After his ouster, Buckingham took a cheap shot in the press theorizing Nicks was envious he’d become a parent and she hadn’t. She might not have biological offspring, but her adoring fans are her spiritual children.]

As a live performer, there’s not much choreography involved with Nicks. Unlike many classic-rock sex symbols, female or male, she’s never been inclined to run around stage acting crazy or shaking it. At Orion, at the mic stand she’d flow her arms and sway as she sang. Whenever she grabbed the mic, she really meant business.

Other Mac songs later in Nicks’ Halloween set included a version of acoustic gem “Landslide” that turned the amphitheater into a campfire hangout. Keyboardist Darrell Smith played a poignant electric-piano solo on that one. The character in Nicks’ singing voice gives a line of lyrics a novel-chapter’s worth of imagery.

Before several songs in the set, Nicks told a background story about the next song, in that charming personality of hers. Leading into “Gypsy,” she said how sometimes she’d put her mattress on the floor to reconnect with the young woman she was before joining Fleetwood Mac. A groover laced with incense, blow and Beaujolais, the reflective “Gypsy” had the many ladies in the audience singing along.

Ditto, “Gold Dust Woman,” which featured an extended mystical intro and echoed vocal riffs. It was thrilling to see Nicks get lost in that nearly half-century old song, from Fleetwood Mac’s mega-selling “Rumours” album, like this was the first tour she’d performed it on. Ninety-five percent of the night she stuck to her original melodies. The few times she deviated, the subtle variations were as artful as Miles Davis trumpet fills.

It’s wild just how much Nicks’ fans, especially female, see themselves in her and her songs. At Orion Amphitheater, many of them echoed some of Nicks’ signature looks, with lots of top-hats, shawls, cowls, berets and black being worn out in the crowd.

Stevie Nicks ends up on a lot of bucket lists. The bucket lists of fans, many of whom at Orion were seeing her perform for their first time. It was definitely Nicks’ first Huntsville show.

More journalists than just yours truly were jazzed about covering the concert. Even the concert’s opening act Ingrid Andress -- a country songsmith who conjured Taylor Swift-meets-Miranda Lambert-on-solo-piano vibes on songs like “Wishful Drinking” -- told the crowd, who showed up early en masse, opening for Nicks realized a lifelong dream.

Since it was Halloween, there were some full-on costume-clad fans at the show. The best: a group dressed as the new-wave band Devo. The worst: the Caesar whose nonstop mid-concert loud-talking had a few rows of other fans ready to throw him to the lions.

Four songs in, Nicks hit an early peak with a rousing “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” her smash-hit duet with Petty. Waddy Wachtel, Nicks’ longtime curly-haired guitarist, replicated Petty guitarist Mike Campbell’s stinging leads. In addition to Nicks, Wachtel has been a go-to guitarist for stars like Keith Richards, Linda Ronstadt and Steve Perry, to name a few.

The “stage moves” Nicks does have are also more about getting lost in the music than hey-look-how-cool-and-foxy-I-am. Throughout her Halloween concert, Nicks would periodically execute some of her trademark twirls. Seeing her twirl in-person made me wonder if she was the inspiration for Lynda Carter’s transformative spinning on the “Wonder Woman” TV show.

At Orion, Nicks worked a tambourine during some of the set, another vintage Stevie visual. After singing the ethereal “Bella Dona” title track, she drew the crowd’s attention to the shawl she was draped in. It was the same blue one from that album’s back cover photo. Still in perfect condition, somehow.

In addition to the hits, Nicks’ set highlights included “Enchanted,” a boogie off radiant 1983 sophomore LP “The Wild Heart.” Drummer Drew Hester’s kickdrum sounded like Godzilla steps during a hard-rock version of 2011 track “Soldier’s Angel.” Nicks dedicated the song to Ukraine. The stage lights turned to Ukraine’s yellow and blue flag colors and a QR code for donations to Ukrainian war relief was shown on the video-screen.

As thrilling as it was hearing Nicks sing Mac monoliths, the solo stuff ruled. Particularly how this quintessential ‘70s rocker utilized synthesizers during the ‘80s. At Orion, “Stand Back” pulsated with neon simmer, courtesy of keyboardist Ricky Peterson. Guitarist Carlos Ruiz sliced slinky rhythms and peeled off a hot solo. During “Stand Back,” Al Ortiz’s bass rearranged Orion into a dancefloor for both fans and Nicks, who rang up at least nine twirls during that song alone.

The overall sound mix was crisp and warm throughout the show. You never once had to strain to hear Nicks’ vocals, and everything was expertly balanced and sonically articulate.

Set-closer “Edge of Seventeen” opened with an extended drums and guitar intro. Wachtel, who played the simple-staccato groove on the song’s original recording, stretched out for bluesy licks, before the whole band returned to lock in. The backing vocal ooh-baby-oohs, so integral to “Edge of Seventeen,” were done onstage by Sharon Celani and Marilyn Droman, who provided angel textures all night.

Before her first exit from Orion’s stage, in lieu of announcing the band, Nicks walked to each band member and bowed to them. Band intros can be a cool gesture. But it was noticeable last night how better a show flows without them. And really, audience members rarely commit the backing musician names to memory. Whether announcing them or not, showing the band appreciation is what matters. Nicks obviously appreciates hers.

After Nicks and band walked off, the stage returned to dark. The crowd roared and applauded, and not the typical level of encore-inducing appreciation either. This was louder. More urgent.

A few minutes later, the band and Nicks returned. After “Edge of Seventeen,” where do you go from there? The answer, at least tonight, was a heartfelt cover of Tom Petty’s signature song, “Free Fallin’.”

A photo montage of Petty and Nicks together over the years heightened the moment. For the “Free Fallin’” choruses, Nicks had 8,002 backing singers. On the side of the stage, Nicks’ roadcrew had donned Halloween costumes. They were reveling in the moment too.

After the Tom Petty tribute, Nicks told the Orion crowd not to leave yet because she had a Halloween surprise. A few minutes later she and band returned, all wearing witch hats. They then unfurled the tribal beats of “Rhiannon,” Nicks’ witchy Fleetwood Mac classic.

The audience became cats in the dark and then we became the darkness. Nicks donned a flower-crown she picked up off the stage floor and floated across the stage like the May Queen.

The band jammed the song out a bit. Then, Nicks bid a fond farewell. She sounded eager to return Huntsville, where she’d spent the last three days leading up to the show.

Right before Nicks’ set, a video message from the city’s music officer, Matt Mandrella, proclaimed Oct. 31, 2022 as Stevie Nicks Day in Huntsville. The Orion crowd roared its approval. During the concert, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle could be seen at his floor seat using his phone to record some of Nicks’ performance.

After the second encore, the house lights went up. A tape of Tom Petty’s cautionary-Hollywood hit “Into the Great Wide Open” eased fans out of the amphitheater.

The Nicks concert put an exclamation point on the state-of-the-art Orion’s first season. After a year-one lineup boasting stars like Jack White, Dave Matthews Band, Chris Stapleton, Earth, Wind & Fire and others, it’s intriguing to think what year-two will be like.

No one who witnessed Stevie Nicks’ Halloween show at Orion will forget it anytime soon. And it was humbling for her to say -- before fading into the night -- she’ll remember us too.

REVIEW Stevie Nicks Live on Halloween in Huntsville, AL

 A night at The Orion with Stevie Nicks
“Welcome, Huntsville!” Nicks said after her first couple of songs. “We all know it’s Halloween, right?”



By Anna Mahan
Photo: Josh Weichman

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (TENNESSEE VALLEY LIVING) - There are many reasons why Stevie Nicks is considered the queen of rock and roll. If you caught her show at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, you know why.

It was October 31st, a sold out show on Halloween under the night sky. What could be more Stevie Nicks than that?

If the crowd wasn’t already excited enough, the lights dimmed and Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” kicked off the show as an introduction to the witchy woman’s highly anticipated arrival.

Tom Petty’s voice faded and was replaced by the familiar notes of “Outside the Rain.” Nicks walked on stage in her black boots with a long black skirt and corset top to match. She clutched the mic draped with ribbons sparkling along the side.

The audience met her with a warm, loud welcome. From “Outside the Rain” she made a smooth transition to Fleetwood Mac’s iconic “Dreams.”

The way she sings these songs and tells the stories behind them, it’s evident the music is part of who she is at her core.

“Welcome, Huntsville!” Nicks said after her first couple of songs. “We all know it’s Halloween, right?”

The crowd, decked out in shawls, top hats and Halloween costumes responded with a loud cheer and wide-eyed wonder. The new amphitheater was filled with fans around Nicks’ age, to a new generation of music lovers.

Eight-thousand people in the crowd together, we all seemed to fall under a trance as the band played.

Throughout the night, Nicks took time in almost every song to turn her attention to her eight band mates on stage.. She would look at them in awe, dancing and rocking out alongside of them. Nicks, 74, spent a lot of time next to lead guitarist, Waddy Wachtel, 75, who played plenty of mean licks to go round.

Nicks shared many stories with the audience that night. One of them was about how when she isn’t quite feeling herself, she takes the mattress off her bed and covers it in old quilts and paper flowers and becomes old Stevie, the gypsy that remains. Cue the song.

That night, the crowd got a glimpse into Nicks’ gypsy, and our very own.

Because she’s Stevie Nicks, she wore four different shawls throughout the night. One of which was the original shawl she wore on the back of the 1981 album, “Bella Donna.” She joked about how she throws it around like an old blanket, yet it’s still in perfect condition. Must be some kind of Stevie magic.

As the night went on, the queen of rock and roll continued to open up. When the first chords of “Soldier’s Angels” began to play, Nicks spoke about how hurt she was for the people of Ukraine. She dedicated the song to the country as the their blue and yellow flag was shown on the screen behind her along with QR code to donate.

When she sang “Gold Dust Woman,” Nicks, the crowd and myself all went wild. She danced and whirled around the stage in a gold shawl, not letting go of the audience for one second.

“Edge of Seventeen,” is the first song of Nicks’ I ever heard thanks to Jack Black’s iconic movie, “School of Rock.” Hearing her sing it live was a dream come true along with “Landslide.”

With another nod to her late friend Tom Petty, Nicks gave a lot of energy to “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” and her beautiful rendition of “Free Fallin” as photos of the two old friends danced along the video-screen behind her.

Before any of us knew it, Nicks had been playing for a little over an hour and a half and the night was beginning to wind down.

The lights went dark as Nicks told everyone not to leave just yet, but to wait for a special Halloween gift she had for us. A minute went by and the band walked back on stage all in witch hats.

We all heard the opening notes to “Rhiannon,” before Nicks floated back on stage in a purple cape and a witch hat to match. The whole amphitheater, Nicks, her band and everyone in the audience was dancing along in a dreamy trance.

The band played for a while before they began to say their goodbyes. Nicks twirled around stage with her cape following every move she made. The band came together and bid us all adieu with a couple of bows.

“Well, that’s the best Halloween I can ever remember having,” Nicks said as the audience cheered in agreement.

The lights came back on and we all realized what we just experienced. If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. And if you ever get the chance to see her, do it.

Stevie Nicks closed out The Orion’s first season and I can’t imagine anyone better for the job.

Until we can see her again, we pick up the pieces and go home. Rock on, gold dust woman.

Saturday, October 29, 2022

REVIEW Stevie Nicks was triumphant in Tampa

Review: Stevie Nicks stupefies and hypnotizes in very sold-out return to Tampa
With some heavy tributes to Tom Petty, too.
Photo and Review By Josh Bradley




“I want you to know that I don’t know how hard that hurricane hit you, because I don’t live here, but we all worried. All over the world, we worried about you every day,” Stevie Nicks admitted to an almost brimful MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Tuesday night.

It goes without saying that against all odds, Tampa Bay got off fairly easy from Hurricane Ian. But even the 74-year-old Fleetwood Mac frontwoman knows that Ian is only a fraction of what made 2022 such a shitty year in the news.

Nicks was angered enough to release a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” earlier this year—penned by Florida boy Stephen Stills—which she  apparently wanted to record from a young age. “It’s always really fun to be a woman, and sing a man’s song, so I did that, and I tried to be very loyal to his version, but to sing it from my heart also,” she explained.

She also reminded us that voting season has arrived, and that we had better not sit the midterms out. “I never voted until I was in my mid-‘60s. What a shame, oh the shame,” she added, citing tour and studio schedules as her excuse.

Then there was the time she was gifted a hand-painted box for her birthday last year, crafted by a Ukrainian artist named Julia. Days after her birthday, Nicks—who had befriended Julia—got a text from her, saying that she was in the process of escaping the country and preparing to seek refuge. In honor of her—and her entire country—Nicks then dedicated a heartfelt rendition of “Soldier’s Angel” to Julia, while graphics of the ailing country flashed behind her. Once done, she encouraged the packed crowd to donate a few dollars to Save Ukraine.

Other than said moments of solemnity, every other ounce of Nicks’s performance was triumphant. Clad in her standard black dress and wiccan-esque regalia, her nine-piece band—not featuring ex-Heartbreaker Benmont Tench III due to scheduling—kicked things off by launching into “Outside The Rain,” which oh-so-smoothly segued into “Dreams,” the latter of which featured no cranberry juice, or, in Nicks’ case, roller skates. Just the majestic twirls and fringed-up microphone she's embedded into our minds.

That didn’t mean that there would be no wardrobe adjustments, though. She had three different cloaks and capes in her vicinities. She sported one drenched in gold sequins that went down like a scarf on “Gold Dust Woman,” and another black one with gold hearts on “Stand Back.” Most notably, however, Nicks was draped in the exact cape she wore on the back cover of her 1981 Bella Donna album.

“It is in perfect condition,” she bragged after twirling around to prove it. “I really don’t get it, but it just keeps on truckin’.”

Twice did she remember her old friend—and ours—Tom Petty, who died five years ago this month. While introducing “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” Nicks told the story of how her at-the-time boyfriend Jimmy Iovine managed to get Petty and the Heartbreakers—who he had produced Damn The Torpedoes for a few years prior—to help spawn a hit for Bella Donna by duetting on the Petty-Campbell-penned track.

The second remembrance came at the start of the encore, in the form of a “Free Fallin’” rendition. If you didn’t shed some tears or at least take off your hat for that one, are you even a true Floridian?

She didn’t skip over “Edge of Seventeen,” which everyone going up to the packed lawn knew was about to be performed based on the tempo of the drums that opened the song. She also didn’t forget to salute the Fleetwood Mac songs that put her on the map in the first place. “Landslide” was a strange way to follow the 10-minute-long epic that was “Gold Dust Woman,” but guitarist Waddy Wachtel provided the acoustic accompaniment for the one tune that has been performed just about every time Nicks has hit a stage, which was penned in a really dingy house belonging to her friends.

“Rhiannon” was presented as one final witchy spectacle at the tail end of Nicks' all-too-short 105-minute set.

“It’s almost Halloween!” She announced afterward. “I’m just getting myself ready.”

Nicks may take a bit longer to prepare herself, but I’m certain that everything majestic about her has a few thousand witches and wizards of Tampa Bay fully ready.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

REVIEW Stevie Nicks Puts a Spell on Charlotte, NC

Stevie Nicks puts a spell on Charlotte at the PNC Music Pavilion
A packed house saw Stevie Nicks perform songs pulled from her acclaimed career as a musician.


Author: Nathaniel Puente

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After nearly a half-century of releasing music with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, and Tom Petty, and on her own during her illustrious solo career, Stevie Nicks has just about done it all.

At 74 years old, Stevie could call it a career and be remembered as a wonderful performer who made some tremendous songs. But Stevie Nicks is not done wowing audiences and releasing musing just yet.

Nicks made a stop in Charlotte at the PNC Music Pavilion on Saturday as part of her 2022 United States tour that was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19 cases.

The 2022 shows are Nicks's first performances since before the COVID-19 pandemic began. She told the audience that the gap made her appreciate her music even more.

That appreciation was on full display as Nicks gave it her all on some of her most beloved songs.

Nicks and her band opened with "Outside the Rain" from her solo debut album Bella Donna (1981). The song faded into "Dreams," one of the most popular songs Nicks made with Fleetwood Mac.

Songs were pulled from both her time in Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. "Gypsy," "Stand Back," and "Edge of Seventeen" were some of the most prominent songs of the night that got the raucous crowd even further amped up.

Every twist and twirl Nicks made on stage brought exuberant cheers from the crowd, which filled up just about every seat and lawn spot the PNC Music Pavilion had to offer.

In between songs, Nicks would tell stories about the track's origin and how she felt at the moment writing the lyrics.

Before "Landslide," Nicks told a story about her early days as a struggling musician when she was in a relationship with Lindsey Buckingham, who would join her in Fleetwood Mac just a year later. 

Before "Soldier's Angel," Nicks pleaded with the audience to donate to the Ukraine war effort. She also requested for people in the crowd to vote in the upcoming midterm election, noting that she voted for the first time in her mid-60s.

Throughout the night, Nicks paid tribute to Tom Petty, who died in 2017. She played the acclaimed duet she recorded with Petty, "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" and covered Petty's "Free Fallin'" as photos of the pair flashed on the concert monitors.

Those in attendance were beyond thrilled watching the "high priestess," as opening act Vannesa Carlton dubbed her, in action. The show proved why Nicks is a premier entertainer even to this day. 

Nicks told the Charlotte crowd she plans to come back to the area for a future tour.




Saturday, October 08, 2022

Stevie Nicks Reschedules Phoenix and Woodlands Shows



Stevie Nicks postponed her October 6th show in Phoenix, AZ and rescheduled it to November 5th. All tickets will be honored for the new date.

The Woodlands, TX show scheduled for October 9th has also been rescheduled to November 2nd.

The two shows were postponed due to a non-covid respiratory illness and Stevie's Doctors have advised that she needs vocal rest.

Stevie Nicks enjoyed two triumphant nights in Southern California

Stevie Nicks Current Tour A Joyous Celebration Of A Rock Icon By Both Fans And Artist
by Steve Baltin



At the time of his death from cancer in 2016, David Bowie was widely and rightly regarded as arguably the greatest rock star of all time. Certainly, he is very high on the short list. However, Bowie did not have a top ten studio album in the U.S. from 1983's Let's Dance to 2013's The Next Day.

Fame is an insanely fickle game. And you can take all the top scientists and statisticians in the world, lock them in a room for a year and they would never be able to figure out the algorithm for fame. It does not exist.

Take the case of the iconic Stevie Nicks. This past weekend Nicks enjoyed two triumphant nights in Southern California, first headlining night one of Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival Friday night. She followed that with a sold-out show Monday before an adoring crowd at the Hollywood Bowl.

So, what changed? As stated, it's hard to know for sure since fame is determined by so many moving parts. But one can point to quite a few factors and speculate. There was the insane TikTok "Dreams" phenomenon that catapulted that Mac song back to the top of the charts. Then there was Nicks induction into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2019. And, maybe most of all, the incredible admiration she has received from a new generation of stars, from Harry Styles and Taylor Swift to HAIM. So between TikTok and Harry Styles billions of fans under 20 have had a chance to discover Nicks and her status as a true rock and roll queen. On Friday, at Ohana, Pearl Jam frontman Vedder joined Nicks to sing the Tom Petty portion of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Maybe far more important than what brought about the well-deserved renaissance is that, as she showed at both shows, Nicks is thriving with the adulation. Nicks has been very careful touring as a result of COVID so in the last few years she has done only a handful of appearances.

It was very evident watching her last weekend how much she missed the road. During a show-stopping "Gold Dust Woman" she twirled and danced around the stage with the reckless glee of a 20-year-old in a mosh pit. Between songs she engaged with the audience so much that during the Bowl show, before the beautiful "Soldier's Angel," dedicated to the people of Ukraine, she joked with the crowd about being on a script so as not to run too long and go over.

She told stories about why she chose to cover Buffalo Springfield's 1967 classic protest anthem, "For What It's Worth," as her latest single, and about the creation of "Landslide." That she could make the crowd laugh as she told a story about writing it in a random millionaire's mansion, then bring the crowd to tears with a perfect version of one of the 10 most poignant songs ever penned in rock was just part of the magic of these shows.

So maybe the better question is what makes these shows so special to Nicks, who is clearly at the absolute pinnacle of her performance because she is so clearly loving being on the road.

Again, this would be speculation, though I did speak to the forthcoming and captivating Nicks for 90 minutes in 2020. At that point she offered a profound tribute to fallen friends like Tom Petty, who she honored multiple times at the Bowl. She came out to Petty's "Running Down A Dream" and covered "Free Fallin,'" in the encore. At the time of our talk she spoke about losing so many friends.

So maybe having suffered so much loss, Nicks is appreciating being on the road and the rapport with her friends with a renewed vigor. Or maybe she just missed touring. Whatever the case may be Nicks showed at both shows the admiration and love between her and her growing legion of fans is very mutual and appreciated by all. The result is an incredibly joyous evening celebrating a true rock icon.



Stevie Nicks returned to the Hollywood Bowl in classic Stevie fashion

Stevie Nicks Returns to the Hollywood Bowl for a Witchy Night of Shawls, Classics and Tributes
Nicks performed her classics like "Edge of Seventeen," "Gypsy," "Dream" and paid tribute to friend Tom Petty by closing with a cover of "Free Fallin'"

By Daniela Avila 



Fall is in the air and Stevie Nicks brought the witches out to the Hollywood Bowl!

On Monday night, Nicks returned to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles for Stevie Nicks Live in Concert and fans of the iconic singer flooded the seats, dressed in classic Stevie fashion from head to toe.

The show opened with the 74-year-old singer's longtime friend Vanessa Carlton. Shortly after 9 p.m., the singer came out to "Outside the Rain," which was featured on her 1981 album Bella Donna with her signature bedazzled microphone.

Shortly after, the crowd sprung off their seats when they heard the beats of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" — prompting everyone to dance and sing along. Once Nicks was finished, she addressed the crowd and joked that rather than going on tangents she would try to stay focused when recounting her stories throughout the show.

"I'm so happy to be here because you're my home," she told the crowd as they cheered. "You've been here every step of the way. You've been here forever. Let's get this party started."

Throughout the night, she sang classics like "If Anyone Falls," "Enchanted," "Gypsy, "Soldier's Angel" and even performed her new song "For What It's Worth" — a re-recording of the 1966 Buffalo Springfield song. For each song, she recounted a fun story about how it came to be.

When it came time for her smash-hit "Landslide," the songstress dedicated the song to her family and to Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie, who was sitting in the audience.

"He's my best friend and the person that I went to for solace," she said.

It also wouldn't be a Stevie Nicks concert without a touch of witchy attire. Throughout the night, the singer switched in and out of various shawls to match the theme of the song. During her performance of "Bella Donna," she wore the original one from the album's cover art: "Everybody wants it," she joked.

The singer also made sure to commemorate her late friend Tom Petty, who made Nicks an honorary Heartbreaker — and she never fails to mention she would've loved to be a part of the band. First, she prefaced her 1981 duet with Petty "Stop Draggin' My Heart" by recounting the story of needing a single for her solo debut — and this was the perfect fit.

Later, during her encore (and after "Edge of Seventeen" of course!), she wrapped the show by covering Petty's "Free Fallin.'" This was unlike her other shows where she regularly concludes with "Rhiannon." During the performance, photos of herself and Petty were projected onto the background.

"The only thing that ever really heals anything is music," she said during her exit speech. "You are an awesome audience and I will take that with me for the rest of my life."

In July, Nicks revealed she would resume her 2021 tour after canceling over concerns surrounding the rising number of COVID-19 cases around the country.

"These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made. I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us," she wrote at the time.

"While I'm vaccinated, at my age I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the five performances I had planned for 2021," she continued. "Because singing and performing have been my whole life, my primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer."




Stevie Nicks dedicates Landslide to John McVie at Hollywood Bowl

Stevie Nicks, Timeless As Ever At The Hollywood Bowl
The iconic singer's performance was full of classic hits, touching tributes, and yes, lots of shawls.

BY BRITTANY SPANOS


Most people were winding things down on Monday night in Los Angeles yesterday, but the streets near the Hollywood Bowl were buzzing with thousands of fans doing their best Stevie Nicks impressions. They wandered toward the venue, paying homage to the rock star’s many eras, wearing outfits that captured her effortless Southern California Seventies glam or showing off examples of her witchy drapery, capturing the style and spirit that make Nicks a timeless icon.

Those fans were there to attend her sold-out show at the historic venue on Monday evening. The performance was part of a tour she kicked off earlier this year, which she’s scheduled in spurts between festival sets and shows at select US cities.

Nicks’ longtime friend Vanessa Carlton opened the night with a brief set that, of course, included a venue-wide sing-along to “A Thousand Miles.” Shortly before 9 p.m., the stage lights dimmed and Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” blasted from the sound system. It would be the first of many touching tributes to Petty, who made Nicks an honorary Heartbreaker. It’s an gesture she’s taken seriously ever since.

Nicks’ setlist focused heavily on Bella Donna, The Wild Heart and her Fleetwood Mac classics, a decade-long stretch of career home-runs that showed she was a living legend before time had the chance to do so itself. After opening with “Outside the Rain,” she got “Dreams” out of the way, prompting a beautiful bit of harmonizing from the audience.

Any fan of Nicks knows that she’s a natural born storyteller, and on stage and in interviews, she’s more than happy to share long-winded tales of her life, her songs, and her famous friends and lovers. Early on, Nicks made a promise that she would rein it in for the night with her stories, even though this particular show had an audience full of some of her closest confidantes.”I have so much to say,” she promised. Some fans giggled and would have been happy to bask in as many tales she would have liked to spin.

She made good on her promise to keep it short and sweet, though: Before “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” her hit 1981 duet with Petty, she recalled how her producer and then-boyfriend Jimmy Iovine (who was seated in the crowd) told her she needed a single for her solo debut. He then clued her in on the Petty-penned track. Just as she launched into her recently released cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” she sang the praises of songwriter Stephen Stills. And she prefaced a twirl-filled “Gypsy” with some life advice about pulling your mattress off the bed frame to remind yourself who you are. Later, she dedicated In Your Dreams’ “Soldier’s Angel” to the people of Ukraine, singing it in tribute to one Ukrainian woman, in particular, named Julia who had sent Nicks a paining of sunflowers that she displayed on screen as the song began.

As Nicks sang her way through her past, she continued to breathe new life into some of rock music’s most classic and enduring songs. She belted “Wild Heart” as effortlessly as she did nearly 40 years ago (after dedicating it to comedian Kathy Griffin, naturally). During “Gold Dust Woman,” she embodied the same feverish, frenetic stage presence that made her Seventies performances of the song so iconic, moving as if possessed by the guitar solo while wrapped in a golden shawl (one of four she pulled out during the night, including the blue one she wore on the back cover of Bella Donna).

The final stretch of the show was an unrelenting series of hits. “Landslide” was dedicated to her many godchildren as well as John McVie, her close friend and “therapist.” The main set concluded with an extended cut of “Edge of Seventeen,” before the encored kicked back off with a cover of Petty’s “Free Fallin’.” The song fit her like a glove, a true tribute to one of her best friends and musical heroes, whose likeness was displayed on a slideshow behind Nicks as she sang it. She ended the song by staring at some lingering shots of the him and her together, performing on stage later in his life.

Unlike other shows on this tour, Nicks skipped frequent show closer “Rock and Roll” (a cover of the Led Zeppelin classic) in favor of her own “Rhiannon,” a more fitting finale. The Bowl’s attendees ranged from teens to Boomers, and in that moment, like many before it, it didn’t matter how or when Nicks’ songs found their way into your life. The show erupted into one final, loud, sing-along before the truly timeless star twirled off into the California night.








Wednesday, September 28, 2022

REVIEW Stevie Nicks Live in Bridgeport, CT Sept 24, 2022

Stevie Nicks returns to Bridgeport for Sound On Sound headlining performance
Andrew DaRosa


After her last appearance almost 20 years ago, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks returned to Bridgeport on Saturday for a headlining appearance at Sound On Sound music festival. The 74-year-old singer-songwriter led the audience in an hour-and-a-half performance that saw Nicks perform hits from all eras of her career.

Nicks, who was rather talkative during the show, introduced songs like a show-and-tell presentation — offering insights and stories behind songs like “Gypsy” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Fans of Nicks’ Fleetwood Mac work walked away pleased as the singer of group belted classics like “Landslide,” “Dreams” and “Rhiannon.”

One surprise moment of the show was a rendition of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," which Nicks recently recorded and released on streaming platforms on Sept. 23. Nicks told the crowd that she has always admired the songwriting craft of Stephen Stills, and wanted to record her own version of the song. 

Nicks' last solo show in Connecticut occurred at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2016 while Fleetwood Mac's last Connecticut performance happened in 2019, according to setlist.fm. The last time Nicks performed in the Park City was in 2003 with Fleetwood Mac at the Arena At Harbor Yard (now-Total Mortgage Arena).

Friday, September 23, 2022

NEW INTERVIEW Stevie Nicks on why she recorded "For What It's Worth"

 





Stevie joined Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 to discuss her cover of “For What It’s Worth.”

About Her History With Stephen Stills’ Song “For What It’s Worth”...

So, I'll tell you why I used it. Since 1966, when it was first written, I was a big Buffalo Springfield fan. So then, we moved quickly towards the future, and say 1968 is probably when I really started listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash. So, what happened was, is that then I really became a big fan of that song. And, even in those early days, that was right when I joined the band with Lindsey, it was 1968 in San Francisco. And, in my little head, thinking that, "Yes, of course this is going to work out." I said, "I'm going to record that song someday.”

Why She Decided To Release The Cover Now...

It took a whole long time to do it, but the reason that I recorded it was because a week after the Uvalde shooting, I recorded it. I just said... It just came into my head. Sometimes you're just sitting on the couch, and sometimes it'll just come into your head, and you didn't even look for it, and it just comes. So, I thought, okay, I'm going to record it. And, I called my favorite producer, Greg Kurstin, and I said, "I would like to record this." And, he goes like, "Okay, great." He recorded it, he played everything except the lead guitar solo by Waddy Watchel. And, I went in and sang it, and with this whole COVID thing, it's not all so easy to just do that, but we did it, and we wanted to put it through a record company, because it was early in the summer. And so, that of course then takes a while, and then I had to go back on the road. So, it was not ever a protest song. Stephen Stills wrote it about the kids on the Sunset Strip getting together to go to the Roxy, and Troubadour, and everything. And then, the police said, "Well, you can't be keeping everybody in the Hills awake. So, you have to be gone by 10 o'clock." And, of course, I don't go to bed till eight in the morning. So, just imagine. It's like, you have to be off the streets at 10 o'clock, and they're like, "Are you serious? That's not going to happen." So, it turned into riots. I mean, they were like, "You're not going to tell us when we have to go to bed. So, we're not going to leave." So, that's really what he wrote it about. I had no idea, but it is. That's the truth.

How She Approached Covering The Song and What She Hopes Fans Get Out Of Listening To It...

So, everybody has their own meaning for that song, but I just think that somewhere in Stephen Still's amazing songwriting, visionary, whatever you want to say, for what it's worth, he managed, in that song, to cover everything. To cover everything that everybody's complaining about, and fighting against, in the entire world. He managed, in that song, to touch on everything so subtly… you could have said, "Okay, is that song about gun violence? Is that song about women's rights? Is it about immigration?" You wouldn't have had any idea exactly what it was about, but you could take it all in to be about anything that you personally wanted it to be about. But, I know, if I'm going to sing some really famous rockstar guy’s song, I better sing it well, or I'm going to get totally panned. So, I put everything I have into doing an interpretation of a song written by a man and sung by a man... especially such a famous man and songwriter as Stephen Stills. So I really did try to stay as within Stephen's realm as I could. And that's really, basically what I tell the audience is, "This is a song I long wanted to record. This seemed to be the right time. And I hope that you, whatever you're..." I don't know if I ever said whatever your views on anything are, I hope that you can rise above that and take it for what it is. And also, I just hope you like the song.

The witchiest women in pop, the great Stevie Nicks Live in Bangor Maine

Stevie Nicks as talented and charming as ever in Bangor show
The Fleetwood Mac singer's set Thursday was wide-ranging and pulled primarily from her solo career.


BY ROBERT KER
Photo: @hachetommy

The autumn equinox officially brought fall to Maine on Thursday, and with it blew in one of the witchiest women in pop music, the great Stevie Nicks. Possessing an extraordinarily rich catalogue of music and a fashion sense so distinct that if you saw dressed-up concert attendees at gas stations you’d know exactly where they were driving, she charmed the Bangor crowd with poise, presence and a voice that improbably hasn’t aged a day since she climbed onto the tour bus with Fleetwood Mac in 1975.

Autumn’s arrival also brought a noticeable drop in temperature and scattered showers that dampened concertgoers just enough to add some bite to the cool wind. This didn’t have any noticeable effect on the crowd’s spirits, however. The audience at Maine Savings Amphitheater was on its feet and boisterous throughout, screaming wildly whenever Nicks stepped away from the microphone to take flight into her trademark twirls – a more delicate prospect at age 74, making the effort all the more endearing. Coincidentally, she also opened the concert with a medley that directly referenced the weather conditions, beginning with “Outside the Rain” from her 1981 solo album “Bella Donna” and featuring a silky segue into the Fleetwood Mac classic “Dreams” (featuring the “thunder only happens when it’s raining” line in the chorus).

Throughout the set, she dipped more heavily into her solo catalogue than her Fleetwood Mac catalogue. Indeed, there were almost as many nods to her friend Tom Petty as there were to Fleetwood Mac – she came out on stage to Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” playing over the sound system, performed their duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and covered his “Free Fallin’.”

Her solo material, combined with her Mac material, proved how far-ranging her songwriting is, almost as if she wrote songs specifically for a full and satisfying concert set. If you wanted synthesizer-fueled dance songs, you had “If Anyone Falls” or “Stand Back.” You had barroom blues with “Enchanted,” soft-rock with “Gypsy” and power balladry with “Bella Donna.” This range, performed with a polished backing band, was all exercised to draw maximum drama and contrast from the material.

This was most evident in the two songs that closed out the set: “Gold Dust Woman,” the final song from Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” and “Edge of Seventeen,” her biggest solo hit. “Gold Dust Woman” featured a long, drawn-out intro, before Nicks reemerged to the stage wearing a gold shawl. It also contained lengthy instrumental passages in the center and the end, with Nicks dancing with carefree abandon. At the song’s close, she stood with her back to the audience, raising her arms so that the shawl resembled wings.

On “Landslide,” the prior song, she sang the line “I’m getting older too” – a line she has been singing for nearly 50 years, with increasing pointedness with each passing year. Her songwriting balance of youthful energy, singular perspective and wise-beyond-her-years lyrics have aged remarkably, and she’s still interpreting her older material as if she wrote it yesterday, remaining endlessly vibrant even as we all grow older.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

NEW STEVIE NICKS SINGLE "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" OUT SEPTEMBER 22ND

 NEW MUSIC... Friday September 22nd

Stevie Nicks announced via her social media sites that she will release "For What It's Worth" a cover of Buffalo Springfield track written by Stephen Stills in 1969 on Friday September 22nd.

She's been performing the track live on the current tour and initially announced it during a concert that it was coming soon.

iHeart Radio had the exclusive premiere September 21st airing the track on it's classic rock stations.

Look for the song on all streaming platforms where ever you are at midnight.





Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Asbury Park NJ Sept 19, 2022

Stevie Nicks unleashes ‘fairytale’ rock dominance
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media

As the ocean breeze fluttered the scarves and chains dangling from her microphone stand, Stevie Nicks gazed out over the immense crowd — some 30,000 strong stretched a quarter-mile down the beach, a vision of late-summer Jersey Shore serenity — and described the scene as only she might: “a fairytale.”





“Is this the world of Bruce Springsteen?” Nicks asked early in her 90-minute performance, egging on the crowd. While The Boss did not appear, no shine was lost from Nicks’ emphatic set, which echoed effortlessly over the waterfront expanse and beyond the waves painted green, pink and blue by filtered lights. Attend enough festivals and you’ll learn some artists’ voices just don’t carry well in such monstrous settings. But Nicks, 74, was in full command, unloading a mix of solo classics and Fleetwood Mac staples, twirling in place and traipsing around the stage as her eight-piece band played on.

The night’s single-most affecting moment came, perhaps unsurprisingly, during “Landslide,” which Nicks tearfully dedicated to Tessa Fleetwood, Mick Fleetwood’s granddaughter and her goddaughter, who was in attendance. The crowd belted along, many eyes similarly dampened.

More explosive were the crashing renditions of “Gold Dust Woman” (with flecks of golden dust swirling on the big screen), and her synth-laden solo cut “Stand Back.” And of course, “Edge of Seventeen” ignited the audience once more. Nicks sang “Free Fallin’” as a tribute to her close friend Tom Petty, who died in 2017, with happy images of Petty and Nicks on the screen.

She also unloaded a sharp cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” preceded by a funny quip: “I hope you all like it, whatever, I love it.” I’ll take Stevie’s attitude eight days a week.


And the set finished with a rousing take on Led Zeppelin’s “Rock N’ Roll,” sending the audience off on a high. It was a propulsive performance, noticeably more high-octane than her solo tour I covered a few years back, and surely the most memorable headlining set in Sea Hear Now’s young history. Pure joy and power.




Sea Hear Now Festival in NJ Brings Stevie Nicks, Green Day and a Packed Lineup to the Land of Bruce

By Michele Amabile Angermiller

























Photo credit Charles Reagan for Sea Hear Now

Not long into her headlining set on the first day of the fourth annual Sea Hear Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Stevie Nicks had a question for the thousands stretched across the beach.

“Is this the world of Bruce Springsteen?” she asked to enthusiastic cheers. “OK, we’re driving through, and there’s a street sign and I asked that same question and nobody really answered, at least like you guys just did.”

Springsteen is certainly a part of the tapestry of the town, and was well-represented in photographer/festival organizer Danny Clinch’s art tent. But the city has an ever-evolving musical scene, and the beachside setting was its own draw on a weekend of warm, beautiful days and picturesque nights, with an ocean breeze enveloping Nicks and her flowing scarves, creating an ambience — or as she described it, a “fairytale” — only Mother Nature can provide. A red crescent moon peeking through the overhead clouds added to the mystique on the final weekend of summer and beginning of the fall season, or as Nicks — in a nod to her fans donning witch hats and Stevie-attire on the sand — framed it: “it’s almost Halloween.”

“I would like to thank Danny Clinch for putting on this amazing festival,” Nicks said. “To have a festival right on the ocean is pretty spectacular. I live on the ocean so for me I feel like I’m right at home.”

Sea.Hear.Now electrifies the beach with Green Day, Stevie Nicks, and more
Photo credit Charles Reagan for Sea Hear Now




Time to run to the Surf Stage to see the legendary Stevie Nicks, for what we can only describe as magical and spiritual experience, seeing Stevie perform to a crowd of over 30,000 people at one of our favorite beaches was a bucket list item for us.

The icon took the stage and you could hear the roaring crowd for miles. The Sea.Hear.Now audience gave her the warmest welcome with the utmost energy and excitement, with people waiting at her stage dripping in Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks merch since the doors opened at noon.

'Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?'
Stevie performed Fleetwood Mac and her own classics during the hour and half set including, “Edge of Seventeen,” “Dreams,” “Landslide” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin.”

You could feel the energy in the air as she pulled out hit after hit, leaving the massive crowd stunned. Not to be predictable, but our favorite moment of the show was during “Landslide,” which she dedicated to Tessa Fleetwood, Mick Fleetwood’s granddaughter and her goddaughter, who was there to watch her performance. As soon as the first few notes played, the entire beach went silent and took in what was about to happen. All of the conversations and screams came to a halt as everyone softly sang together to a song that means so much to so many people. We’ll remember this performance for the rest of our lives.


GRIFFIN LOTZ FOR ROLLING STONE

Thursday, September 15, 2022

REVIEW Stevie Nicks Live in Detroit Sept 13, 2022



Natalia Holtzman
September 14, 2022
CONSEQUENCE SOUND

We’re in Clarkston, MI, at Pine Knob, where Stevie Nicks is kicking off her first tour in a handful of years. It’s Tuesday, September 13th, and the air smells like roadkill.

In the parking lot and the ticket lines, and the bathroom lines and the beer lines, you can practically taste the hairspray. The man behind me bellows, “Does anyone have any mushrooms?” The women in front of me are quite literally cawing at each other, and when one of the ticket lines ends up leading nowhere — a machine has died; long live the machines — a brunette says, “It’s ‘cause men are running it,” and then her friend says, “I need a coloring book and a safe space right now!”

At last, there’s activity on stage. Vanessa Carlton opens with a few bright, pop-y tunes, though it’s hard to hear her over the noise of the crowd. Everyone’s eyeliner is already running. Every inch of the lawn has been pasted over with sleeping bags and blankets, corners peeling back like damp postage stamps. A woman clutches a tiny dog in her hands. The breeze stinks with cigarettes and weed.

Then the lights go down and the band starts appearing on stage while Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” pounds out of the speakers. There’s someone on organ and someone on piano; others on bass and drums; a few guitars; background singers. Then, all of a sudden, there’s Stevie, center-stage, spot-lit; there she is with her mane of crimped, silver-gold curls, in heeled boots, a black velvet jacket and a tiered skirt.

Stevie opens with “Outside the Rain,” the background singers pacing out their coordinated sways and hand gestures. Her voice is as gravelly and combustible as a coal mine. She’s leaning hard into her lower registers — she always has, but her range has tightened. The background singers carry the high notes.

When the band moves into “Dreams,” the crowd loses its collective mind. “I keep my visions to myself,” Stevie sings, and I want to say something about the irony of this line performed for however many people are here, hundreds or thousands, I don’t know how to make those kinds of calculations — thousands, probably — but the thought won’t formulate, or it will but it’s too on the nose.

“I’m so glad to be here,” Stevie says. “It’s been a long time coming.” My date leans over to whisper, “She’s doing a retrospective!” And that seems accurate. Projected onto the screen behind her, old polaroids start to appear. Stevie in her youth: wide-eyed, big-haired, lips parted. She’s alternating the hits with some lesser-known tunes (“Enchanted,” “Wild Heart”) and a perfectly fine version of “For What It’s Worth,” which she introduces by saying, “If you’re a woman covering someone else’s song, better do it well or don’t do it.” Cheers.

There are moments when she fidgets nervously with the parti-colored scarves tied to the mic stand, or the streamers tied to her tambourine, and when she talks, there’s a kind of coyness, almost a shyness, that clings to her like fabric.

And while the audience skews more towards my parents’ age than my own, there’s a girl on my right who can’t be any older than 22 or 23 and who knows each and every lyric to each and every song and mouths along, one song after the next, her hands clasped over her heart.

Whatever Stevie gives them, they eat up. She pinches the corner of her skirt to twirl and bow and they go nuts. She acquires a shawl — she acquires a new shawl every few songs, because she is Stevie Nicks and she can have as many shawls as she wants — and she spreads it out like a pair of wings, and they go even nuttier.

The lead guitar is churning through some slow, creamy tones — creamy but jagged-edged, like chains dragged through butter — but he’s sticking close to the source; they all are. It’s not a night for pushing boundaries or trying crazy shit. They play the hits and they play them well; they play the hits the way the crowd knows them, the way they were recorded.

But the best thing happening on-stage is the harmonies Stevie’s stacking up with her background singers. They only do it once or twice, just possibly thrice. Each time, Stevie turns her back on the crowd to do it.

They play “Gypsy,” “Landslide,” “Edge of Seventeen.” Stevie introduces “Landslide” with a not-terribly-coherent dedication to Vanessa Carlton’s daughter? Who is maybe Stevie’s goddaughter? For whose birth Stevie was maybe present? Anyway, everyone’s singing along and weeping and I hear someone behind me sob, “This one’s for you, Mom!” and when I look back, she’s holding her phone up, taking a video, swaying tenuously back and forth. “I’m getting older, too,” Stevie sings, opening her arms.

They exit after “Seventeen,” but it doesn’t take much to get them back. Everyone hoists their beer in the air for “Free Fallin’” — Stevie’s been tipping her hat to Tom Petty all night, and to Prince, too — then it’s time for “Rhiannon,” and a nice gritty cover of Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.”

That’s the end, but before anyone can argue, the lights come up, and everyone goes home happy.

Setlist:
  • Outside the Rain
  • Dreams
  • If Anyone Falls
  • Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
  • Enchanted
  • For What It’s Worth
  • Wild Heart
  • Bella Donna
  • Gypsy
  • Landslide
  • Soldier’s Angel
  • Stand Back
  • Gold Dust Woman
  • Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream)
  • Edge of Seventeen
Encore:
  • Free Fallin’
  • Rhiannon
  • Rock and Roll