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Home » REVIEW – Stevie Nicks honors Christine McVie, Tom Petty

REVIEW – Stevie Nicks honors Christine McVie, Tom Petty

Kicking off a new leg of her North American arena tour in Milwaukee Tuesday, Stevie Nicks let a packed house of fans in on one of her rituals.

When she was a younger woman — and now at 75 — Nicks said sometimes she’ll get a mattress on the floor, sit on it, take a breath and tell herself, “I’m still Stevie.”

That she is, the one and only.

And that mattress ritual to stay connected to herself is working wonders. Across a 17-song, hour-and-50-minute set at Fiserv Forum, Nicks maintained that mystical yet earthy spirit that, combined with her bold songwriting and voice, made her a standout with Fleetwood Mac in the ’70s and a successful solo star in the ’80s.

That was most apparent when Nicks spoke between songs, which she did frequently Tuesday. Before playing Fleetwood Mac’s “Gypsy,” she reminisced about suddenly having to pay taxes after she began earning a few hundred dollars a week in the band — not knowing and never making enough to pay taxes before. As she told the story, her face lit up like the rush of overnight fame and fortune just happened yesterday.

An even greater level of wide-eyed enthusiasm poured out of her when she beamed about meeting Tom Petty for the first time to record “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” She honored him Tuesday through performances of that song and “Free Fallin’,” during which pictures of Petty appeared on the stage’s big screen, and by using “Runnin’ Down the Dream” as the intro music and “Learning to Fly” for the exit song.

And while Nicks has been a relatively stationary performer for years now, her youthful exuberance took over for “Stand Back.” Snapping fingers early in the performance — one of Nicks’ most animated expressions to that point in the show — Nicks was ultimately consumed by Ricky Peterson’s ’80s synths, Carlos Rios’ choppy funk guitar riffs and Waddy Wachtel’s bluesy guitar moans as she spun around the stage draped in the same gold-spotted shawl she wore when she first played the song in 1983, shimmying and stomping through the song, belting out the climactic “Take me home” with gusto.

And Nicks’ rendition of “Gold Dust Woman” was practically platinum, tugging at her hair and jerking her body to Drew Hester’s towering, tense drums, her voice as passionate and ethereal as it was on Mac’s classic Rumours album in 1977.

But beyond moments like these, Nicks is not frozen in time.

Twice on Tuesday, she mentioned that she finally voted for the first time when she was 71, encouraging the audience to do the same. And even as she beamed about hearing Stephen Stills’ “For What It’s Worth” for the first time (she performed the song Tuesday), suggesting she could never write a protest song so powerful, Nicks created her own moving protest moment, transforming solo song “Soldier’s Angel” into a condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a barrage of photos from the country building to blinding flashes of the flag’s colors as Nicks belted the final notes.

And Nicks’ tender vocals for the Fleetwood Mac gem “Landslide,” accompanied solely by Wachtel on acoustic guitar and some sparse keys from Darrell Smith, took on a greater level of profundity now that she “is getting older, too,” and with sweet photos of her former bandmate Christine McVie, who died in November, on the stage’s big screen.

“For all of us who knew her — and you knew her — we just have to give her our thought every day and say, ‘Christine, we hope it’s as beautiful up there as you made it for us down here,'” Nicks said Tuesday, her voice slightly choked with emotion.

That she did. And that Stevie Nicks does.

(Caption: Stevie Nicks performs at the Fiserv Forum Tuesday night. For more photos from the concert, go to jsonline.com/music.)

Piet Levy / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / August 10, 2023

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