Stevie Nicks kicks off 2024 tour in Atlantic City

On Saturday, Stevie Nicks kicked off the next leg of the tour, performing her first show of the year at Hard Rock Live at the Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

As the lights went down, Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” quickly set the mood as the preshow opener. Then, Stevie made her entrance, starting the evening off with the power-punch combo of “Outside the Rain” and “Dreams.”

“Thank you, Atlantic City!” Stevie exclaimed, as she revealed that she and her band had been in Atlantic City for a week rehearsing for the show. She told the crowd about the beautiful view of the ocean from her hotel, joking that the Atlantic side compared to the Pacific was “more ferocious, real dangerous — I like it!” Then it was time to get the party started.

Throughout the evening, Stevie performed favorites from her Fleetwood Mac and solo catalog, including the Mac’s only Billboard Pop Singles No. 1 “Dreams” and her own highest-charting single “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” In between songs, Stevie told many cute stories about the songs, injecting her usual adorable candor and charm.

For the Trouble in Shangri-La rocker “Fall from Grace,” Stevie conceded that she was torn about including the song in the set but forged through her doubts. “Something about the fact that it was about an argument made me kind of shy away from it a little bit. Then, when we started this tour about a year and a half ago, I said, ‘You know what? I really actually love that song. I think I’m gonna do it on this tour.’ It takes a lot of energy sometimes I don’t have, but it brings it back. It’s good exercise for me.”

Stevie took the audience back to the early 1980s with the delightful “Gypsy” and “Wild Heart”/”Bella Donna” mashup, exploring the gypsy-esque themes of love, freedom, and wanderlust. Then, she made everyone dance and pump their fists to the pulsating beats of “Stand Back.” The party was in full gear.

Stevie’s political voice has been rising in recent years, so the undertone of current events has become part of her shows. Before leaning into her latest single “For What It’s Worth,” a politically-tinged Buffalo Springfield cover, she expressed remorse for not voting in general elections for the past 50 years up until 2020 and encouraged the audience to vote. While the moody “Soldier’s Angel” (from 2011’s In Your Dreams) kept the spotlight on Ukraine, with haunting images of the war’s destruction displaying on the large monitor at the back of the stage.

Wearing her distinctive sparkly gold shawl, Stevie embodied the spirit of “Gold Dust Woman” like a phoenix rising from the ashes. The newer arrangement of the song has ended with the familiar refrain of “Do you know how to pick the pieces and go home.”

Stevie replaced the deep cut “I Sing for the Things” (from Rock a Little) with the familiar hit duet “Leather and Lace,” which she performed with her longtime vocal coach Steve Real Vasquez. (Vasquez also joined Stevie for the duet during the 2011 In Your Dreams Tour.)

As usual, Stevie ended the show with the emotional “Landslide,” paying tribute to her friend and former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie, who unexpectedly passed away in 2022 at the age of 79. After the performance, Stevie reiterated her mom’s advice: “Stevie, when you’re hurt, you run to the stage and it makes you better.” She reaffirmed those healing words on Saturday night and credited the audience for their part in the healing. “It makes me better every night, and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.”

As the crowd started to disperse and leave, Christine McVie’s 1984 hit single “Got a Hold on Me” began to play through the speakers, and sweet memories were all that were left for them now.

Special thanks to Jim Powers for recording the entire show!