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.
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."
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.
Lindsey performed in London on Oct 1st and Berlin prior to that on Sept 28th. The first 5 dates of his European tour were canceled due to illness. He also canceled the remaining dates of his European tour due to illness.
• Glasgow Oct 3
• Liverpool Oct 4
• Dublin Oct 6
Not sure what the health issue is but he did have covid which caused the first rescheduling of the Euro dates, this could be a relapse. Get well Lindsey!
His tour resumes in the US on October 26th.
10/26/2022 - Bristol, TN - Paramount Center for the Arts
10/27/2022 - Louisville, KY - Kentucky Center for the Arts (Brown Theatre)
10/29/2022 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place
10/31/2022 - Eau Claire, WI - University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (Pablo Center at the Confluence)
NOVEMBER, 2022
11/1/2022 - Green Bay, WI - Meyer Theatre
11/3/2022 - Nashville, IN - Brown County Music Center
11/4/2022 - Elkhart, IN - Lerner Theatre
11/6/2022 - York, PA - Appell Center for the Performing Arts
11/7/2022 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
11/9/2022 - Port Chester, NY - The Capitol Theatre
11/10/2022 - New London, CT - Garde Arts Center
11/12/2022 - New Brunswick, NJ - State Theatre New Jersey
11/13/2022 - Annapolis, MD - Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
11/15/2022 - Roanoke, VA - Jefferson Center
11/16/2022 - Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre
11/18/2022 - Nashville, TN - CMA Theatre (Country Music Hall of Fame)
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).
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