Stevie Nicks
(Herbert W. Worthington, III)
Home » She’s got that Midas touch

She’s got that Midas touch

Stevie Nicks performs at the Worcester Centrum, June 3 and 4

LOWELL – A funny thing happened when Keith Olsen popped a demonstration tape into the machine in his recording studio 11 years ago, and it was the beginning of Stevie Nicks’ Midas touch.

Not only did the sound that swelled from the speakers win Olsen the job of producing Fleetwood Mac’s next album, as he had hoped, but it also gave the band its super-seller lineup. The tape, so the story goes, was of the Olsen-produced album Buckingham Nicks, a record by the West Coast duo Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

Nicks, the sultry, raspy-voiced singer, brings her solo tour through Worcester this Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3 and 4. Peter Frampton, a longtime rocker experiencing renewed success, opens the shows. Some tickets remain for both nights.

What followed the merger of the Mac and Buckingham and Nicks was multi-platinum success, thanks to albums named Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, Tusk and Mirage. Hit singles danced up the charts with ease. But relationships within the band eroded, and while it made for some strong music, the splits made it tough to work together, too.

Mystical ramblings

Nicks mustered her spirits and her talents, put together crack studio backing, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and released Bella Donna. The album, named for belladonna, the second most hallucinogenic drug in the world, featured many of the mystical ramblings and haunting melodies that had been a signature of Nicks’ work with Fleetwood Mac. But gone were the other members of the band, and the sharing of the microphone and the responsibility for the outcome. Some critics slammed Nicks for her tendency toward spacey lyrics, but “Stop Dragging My Heart Around,” a duet with Petty and band, was a smash.

Other solo Nicks albums, including 1983’s The Wild Heart and the recent Rock A Little, followed, and Nicks is the most successful member of Fleetwood Mac to hit the road and the recording studio alone.

Nicks, who turned 38 Monday, was born in Phoenix, Ariz., and first performed with Buckingham in a San Francisco area band named Fritz, which played the Bay Area from 1968 through 1972. The two, who had become romantically involved, broke off from the band and eventually recorded the Buckingham Nicks album. After Bob Welch left Fleetwood Mac (which had formed in 1967 as a blues band but enjoyed only moderate success), drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie were looking for a studio when they heard Olsen’s work with the duo.

The re-formed Fleetwood Mac’s first, self-titled effort, helped considerably by the success of the single “Rhiannon,” a Nicks composition, sold fast and heavily and stayed on the charts for 122 weeks. Its sales topped five million.

Personal breakups

Rumours, which hit the racks two years later, chronicled the personal breakups after the success (Nicks and Buckingham and McVie and his wife, keyboardist Christine), was one of the biggest sellers of all time, as fans snapped up 15 million copies worldwide. Tusk was the band’s creative peak, as Buckingham led the Macs in experimental directions, and Mirage, from 1982, was a solid, steady hunk of pop-rock.

Through it all, Nicks added considerably to the band’s success, penning several hit singles (most notably “Rhiannon,” “Dreams” and “Sara”) and taking her place as one of rock’s biggest sex symbols. But Nicks, a dancer, was as prone to throat nodes in concert as she was to whirling around onstage like a possessed backwoods witch, and was known as an inconsistent performer, sometimes unable to sing.

Fleetwood Mac has been in the studio recently, and the release of a new record is imminent. Feelings weren’t as strained as they have been in the past, ifs been said, and Nicks had so much fun while adding her vocal parts that she wanted to stay longer, but had to hit the road in support of Rock A Little. While that’s good news to fans of the band, Stevie Nicks will probably continue to do just fine on her own, too.

Guitarist Frampton, whose latest album, Premonition, is something of a comeback from a few dismal efforts, is riding on the success of a basic rocking sound and a hit single, “Lying.” 

Tickets for the Stevie Nicks concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3 and 4, are available at the Centrum box office, 755-6800.

Who: Stevie Nicks
Where: Worcester Centrum
When: June 3 and 4. 8 p.m.

David Perry / Lowell Sun / May 30, 1986
(This article was transcribed by Stevie Nicks Info)

stevienicks

LIVE IN CONCERT (2024)

Stevie Nicks

MAY 3, 2024 – MAY 5, 2024
Lovin’ Life Fest
Charlotte, NC
TICKETS

MAY 7, 2024
Enterprise Center
St Louis, MO
TICKETS

MAY 10, 2024
WinStar World Casino & Resort
Thackerville, OK
TICKETS

MAY 14, 2024
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN
TICKETS

MAY 18, 2024
Frost Bank Center
San Antonio, TX
TICKETS

MAY 21, 2024
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino – Yaamava’ Theater
Highland, CA
TICKETS

MAY 24, 2024
BottleRock Napa Valley
Napa, CA
TICKETS

MAY 27, 2024
Delta Center
Salt Lake City, UT
TICKETS

MAY 30, 2024
Ball Arena
Denver, CO
TICKETS

JUN 4
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, IN
TICKETS

JUN 9 
Mohegan Sun Casino
Uncasville, CT
TICKETS

JUN 12
MVP Arena
Albany, NY
TICKETS

JUN 15
Hersheypark Stadium
Hershey, PA
TICKETS

JUN 18
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids, MI
TICKETS

JUN 21, 2024 (with Billy Joel)
Soldier Field
Chicago, IL
TICKETS

JUL 12, 2024
BST Hyde Park
London, England
TICKETS

^ Non-Live Nation show


Previous 2023 dates

March 10, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Los Angeles, CA
SoFi Stadium

March 15, 2023
Seattle, WA
Climate Pledge Arena

March 18, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
T-Mobile Arena

May 12, 2023
Raleigh, NC
PNC Arena

May 16, 2023
Knoxville, TN
Thompson-Boling Arena

May 19, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Nashville, TN
Nissan Stadium

May 22, 2023
Atlanta, GA
State Farm Arena

May 25, 2023
Orlando, FL
Amway Center

June 16, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field

June 20, 2023
Toronto, ON (Canada)
Scotiabank Arena

June 23, 2023
Chicago, IL
United Center

June 27, 2023
Louisville, KY
KFC Yum! Center

August 5, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Columbus, OH
Ohio Stadium

August 8, 2023
Milwaukee, WI
Fiserv Forum

August 12, 2023
Houston, TX
Toyota Center

August 15, 2023
Austin, TX
Moody Center

August 19, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Kansas City, MO
Arrowhead Stadium

September 23, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Foxborough, MA
Gillette Stadium

September 27, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA
PPG Paints Arena

October 1, 2023
New York, NY
Madison Square Garden

October 4, 2023
Buffalo, NY
KeyBank Center

October 7, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Baltimore, MD 
M&T Bank Stadium

October 28, 2023
Memphis, TN
FedEx Forum

November 1, 2023
Savannah, GA
Enmarket Arena

November 4, 2023
Allentown, PA
PPL Center

November 7, 2023
Detroit, MI
Little Caesars Arena

November 10, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Minneapolis, MN
U.S. Bank Stadium

November 29, 2023
San Diego, CA
Viejas Arena

December 2, 2023
Inglewood, CA
The Kia Forum

December 5, 2023
Palm Desert, CA
Acisure Arena

December  8, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Phoenix, AZ
Chase Field

December 12, 2023
Sacramento, CA
Golden 1 Center

December 15, 2023
San Francisco, CA
Chase Center

FEB 10, 2024
Mark G Etess Arena
Atlantic City, NJ

FEB 14, 2024
UBS Arena
Belmont Park, NY

FEB 17, 2024
CFG Bank Arena
Baltimore, MD

FEB 21, 2024
Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Greenville, SC

FEB 24, 2024
Hard Rock Live
Hollywood, FL

FEB 28, 2024
Smoothie King Center
New Orleans, LA

MAR 3, 2024
CHI Health Center
Omaha, NE

MAR 6, 2024
Simmons Bank Arena
North Little Rock, AR

MAR 9, 2024
AT&T Stadium
Arlington, TX
Billy Joel

 



2022 Tour

Stevie Nicks

Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Snowmass, CO
Labor Day 2022

Ravinia Festival
Highland Park, IL
September 8, 2022
September 10, 2022

Pine Knob Music Theatre
Clarkston, MI
September 13, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Sea Hear Now Festival
Asbury, NJ
September 17, 2022

Xfinity Center
Mansfield, MA
September 19, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Maine Savings Amphitheatre
Bangor, ME
September 22, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Sound on Sound Festival
Bridgeport, CT
September 24-25, 2022

Ohana Festival
Dana Point, CA
September 30, 2022

Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles, CA
October 3, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

POSTPONED
Ak-Chin Pavilion

Phoenix, AZ
October 6, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

POSTPONED
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

The Woodlands, TX
October 9, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Alpharetta, GA
October 12, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Ascend Amphitheater
Nashville, TN
October 16, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Credit One Stadium
Charleston, SC
October 19, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

PNC Music Pavilion
Charlotte, NC
October 22, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tampa, FL
October 25, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
West Palm Beach, FL
October 28, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Orion Amphitheatre
Huntsville, AL
October 31, 2022

RESCHEDULED SHOWS

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
The Woodlands, TX
November 2, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Ak-Chin Pavilion
Phoenix, AZ
November 5, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton