Fleetwood Mac News: Review Stevie Nicks Live in Manchester

Stevie Nicks' Co-op Live - icon treats Manchester to Fleetwood Mac hits

Stevie Nicks performed at Manchester's Co-op Live Tuesday July 16, 2024

By Craig Jones

Photo Kenny Brown

Manchester enjoyed a wonderful evening when music royalty Stevie Nicks paid a visit to the city’s Co-op Live - even if it was a little later than expected.

Fleetwood Mac icon, Nicks, 76, had been due to perform in the city earlier this month before suffering an injury. Quickly rescheduled to Tuesday evening, the speedy turnaround didn’t prove to be a problem for her devotees with the venue packed out.

There was no mention of the postponement from Nicks but she did speak at length about her love of England with American Nicks joking she’d be keen to call it home. She said: “We like it here. We just might stay. You are probably asking yourselves ‘where is she going to live? She’s probably going to live in Harrods?’.

“Oh, that’s not even here in this town but you can visit me there. As I’ll probably just be in the jewellery department.”

Opening with Outside The Rain, howls followed when the easily-recognisable intro to Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams came second in the set. Nicks, dressed in her signature cape, wavy skirt and tassels, tenderly exuded those unforgettable lyrics. Having many thousand Mancunians as backing singers. After, there were numerous cries of ‘we love you, Stevie’.

The setlist consisted of Mac hits accompanied by songs from the Nicks solo back catalogue. The music pioneer also regularly engaged with her audience giving details about how some of the tracks came to be.

Touching on the unmatched if complicated (well, very complicated) dynamic between herself, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, et al the masses discovered how Gypsy was created. The number soon followed and proved to be one of the evening’s highlights.

The Mac anecdotes were delivered with warmth and an understanding of how important those people and that band have been in Nicks’ life. On Tuesday, there were also dedications to the star’s contemporaries as many greats flashed on the big screens with Tom Petty getting his own moment when Nicks gave a rendition of Free Fallin’. Nicks spoke with much humility when discussing her influences.

The cape changes were plentiful with Bella Donna and Stand Back originals being presented on stage. The attire of many in attendance was clearly inspired by the landmark musical artist.

A mesmeric performance of Edge of Seventeen, featuring emphatic guitar work from Waddy Wachtel, concluded the main set. Stills of Prince flashed up before the humble Nicks thanked the Co-op crowd for their support.

A two-song encore came in the shape of Fleetwood Mac classics Rhiannon and Landslide. At the weekend, in London, the latter saw Harry Styles join Nicks on stage. In Manchester, it was Nicks and her stripped back band who brought the curtain down with the deeply impassioned song - dedicated to Mac bandmate Christine McVie who sadly died in 2022.

There were some tears and much adulation as Nicks took her bow. One thing is for certain, Stevie Nicks’ appearance in Manchester was more than worth the wait.

Setlist