“My mum used to say to me when I was little, ‘Stevie when you’re hurt, you always run to the stage', and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since Christine [McVie] passed away.” While honouring her fallen friend and former Fleetwood Mac bandmate on what would have been her 81st birthday - McVie died suddenly from a stroke in 2022 - Stevie Nicks looks as though she’s trying to hold back tears, as she explains the reason behind why her tour schedule has been so busy.
Over recent years, Nicks has been endlessly on the road, solely performing in the US. The last time the singer-songwriter was on British soil was in 2017, when she supported another late close friend and collaborator, Tom Petty, at Hyde Park. She was additionally booked to play Glasgow and Manchester earlier this month but was forced to cancel due to injury, keen to recover in time for one of the most prestigious events in the musical calendar year.
The tribute arrives following the performance of Landslide, which features guest vocals from Nicks’ “adoptive-son” Harry Styles, and sees the 76-year-old sing the line ‘But I’m getting older too’ while gazing longingly at the stage screen, which presents a slide-show of personal photographs of McVie. It’s heartbreaking, and one of many intimate moments Nicks shares tonight, summoning a freeflow of tears from the crowd, who are largely made up of her obvious disciples - fans in long gossamer skirts, feathered hats, 70s-style hair-dos - wearing staples of her own wardrobe.
When they arrive at Hyde Park earlier in the day, the field evokes a gathering of witches, a multi-generational Sabbat of her most loyal and adoring worshippers wanting to look exactly like her. It’s the Stevie Nicks effect, and not many rock stars - particularly in the twilight of their careers - can claim to still have such an obsessive fanbase. In fact, the Fleetwood Mac legend takes multiple moments throughout her set to tell long-winded and superbly comical stories, sparking widespread laughter from the audience. Still, it’s something that Nicks knows she can get away with, as fans lap up every word, surely feeling as though they’ve all been suddenly whisked away to her Arizonian living room, giggling over cups of tea and gossipy anecdotes about rockstar parties and her young life with former boyfriend/bandmate Lindsey Buckingham.
Nick’s star power is felt from the moment she steps onto the minimally-dressed stage; multiple overwhelmed fans begin sobbing. Opening with Outside The Rain, lifted from her debut solo record Bella Donna, stepping up to the microphone, her long locks hanging over her black velvet frock, she lets out a bellowing, husky croon. Though Nicks’ voice rarely deviates from the same pitch - no doubt by result of age - the notes she does present are still wonderfully strong. Then, as the stagescreen glows with kaleidoscopic prisms and glittering orbs, Nicks immediately strides straight into Rumours classic Dreams, her voice casting its enchanting spell over the park as the crowd watches on seemingly hypnotised, swaying in the summer breeze.
During the atmospheric Gold Dust Woman, she demonstrates how her wild bohemian spirit is still also very much intact, letting out emotive wails before vigorously rocking out and intensely air drumming during its mesmeric midsection; the whole track is drawn-out on stage to an almost psychedelic result.
To the joy and cheers of the crowd during Gypsy, she even treats us all to her trademark twirl, as she spins round one of multiple shawls that she showcases throughout the evening. At one point, she brings out her gorgeous navy, fringed cape; the original from the Bella Donna artwork, promising to keep showing off her collection at future shows.
Mixing her much-loved Fleetwood Mac tracks with solo anthems including Wild Heart, Leather And Lace (featuring vocal coach Steve Real), If Anyone Falls and the dancey, Prince-co-written Stand Back, the night’s setlist is firmly stacked with classics, as the audience sings along and tries to dance in the tightly-packed field, glued to her every move and word.
Towards the latter end, the field erupts into even greater excitement, as a sea of phones are hoisted in the air to capture the legend in action for her performance of swan song Edge Of Seventeen, later followed by her encore of Rhiannon, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around and the aforementioned Landslide, the latter two assisted by Styles, whose entrance is marked by deafening screams and euphoric exclaims of disbelief.
As the pair perform, Nicks stares adoringly into the ex-One Direction member’s eyes; Styles is one of the many younger performers who she has chosen to take under her velvet wing. Earlier in the day, her support, Brandi Carlile, fittingly dubs Nicks ‘mother’, professing that she wouldn't be doing what she does today if it wasn’t for the Fleetwood Mac singer laying down the blueprint for future musicians, especially female ones, to follow. Tonight, then, is a monumental outpouring of love, a celebration and historical commemoration of a career that has come to mean so much to so many people, and just like Stevie Nicks herself, it is pure magic. Hopefully, it won't be too long before she returns back across the waters for another UK tour - we have missed her greatly.
