On April 25, 2026, Stevie Nicks closed out the Saturday session of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Toward the end of the show, the rain came down steadily, but the crowd stayed put. By the final note, the storm had cleared to make room for a rainbow.
Stevie dusted off “New Orleans,” which she wrote in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. She later recorded the song for her 2011 album In Your Dreams. “I have such a connection to you and a connection to your city,” she explained, “like a feeling of strength and love and caring about you.” She then wrapped up the show with the other big surprise of the set — Fleetwood Mac’s anthem of hope “Don’t Stop,” perhaps a nod to her late bandmate Christine McVie, who died in 2022.
While rare, this wasn’t the first time Stevie has poached a song usually “reserved” for the Fleetwood Mac band. Back in 1994, at the end of the Street Angel Tour, she stunned the crowd at the House of Blues in Los Angeles with a rare solo version of “The Chain.“
Stevie streamlined her festival set for a broader audience, cutting the “Wild Heart/Bella Donna” mashup and “Free Fallin’” in favor of her heavy-hitting crowd pleasers, such as “Rhiannon,” “Gold Dust Woman,” and “Edge of Seventeen.”
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival concludes a rare, brief run for Stevie Nicks — a stint that hints at upcoming projects, whether through a Buckingham Nicks revival, a Fleetwood Mac reunion, or new solo material. Only time will tell what Stevie (and company) has up her chiffon sleeve!
Videos
Special to Jonathan Omes and Mark Lachovsky for sharing your videos from the show!
If Anyone Falls
“New Orleans! I have but really one thing to say and that is I’m very glad to be here with you. I’m always happy to come here. It gives me a reason to sing my song that I wrote about you and Katrina all those years ago that I wrote [inaudible] and just so you know, that’s always a really important part to me and it’s just…I don’t know…every since that happened, I have such a connection to you and a connection to your city and feelings, like a feeling of strength and love and caring about you. So I just want you to know that ’cause it’s important to me. So just that you know I really actually do love you with all my heart! So now, before the rains comes, if it comes, we’re gonna sing a song about the rain!”
Outside the Rain / Dreams
Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
The Lighthouse
Rhiannon
Stand Back
Landslide
Gold Dust Woman
Gypsy
Edge of Seventeen
New Orleans
Don’t Stop
Setlist
- Not Fade Away (The Crickets cover)
- If Anyone Falls
- Outside the Rain
- Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)
- Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
- The Lighthouse
- Rhiannon* (Fleetwood Mac song)
- Stand Back
- Landslide^ (Fleetwood Mac song)
- Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac song)
- Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac song)
- Edge of Seventeen
- New Orleans+
- Don’t Stop+` (Fleetwood Mac song)
Setlist Notes
* Previous encore #1, replaces “Wild Heart/Bella Donna”
^ Previous encore #2, replaces “Free Fallin’”
+ Setlist addition
` First time performed solo
Media Coverage
Stevie Nicks conjured a big crowd and a rainbow at Jazz Fest 2026 with Tyler Childers, Nas (Nola.com)
“[Stevie Nicks] drew one of the largest crowds in 2022, and she played Saturday to the biggest crowd so far at the 2026 Jazz Fest. It was one of those Jazz Fest crowds that takes on a presence and personality of its own. It created gridlock on the walking path coming from the food area and overflowed onto the dirt track. A sightline to glimpse a distant video screen was the best late arrivals could hope for.” [Read more.]
Band
- Stevie Nicks: Lead vocals
- Waddy Wachtel: Guitar & Musical Director
- Al Ortiz: Bass
- Drew Hester: Drums
- Carlos Rios: Guitar
- Ricky Peterson: Keyboards
- Darrell Smith: Piano, keyboards
- Sharon Celani: Background vocals
- Marilyn Martin: Background vocals
- Steve Real Vasquez: Vocal coach
