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Stevie Nicks Concert Review: Classics Don’t ‘Get Older’

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On Nov. 24, rock band Fleetwood Mac’s lead singer Stevie Nicks took the audience down memory lane with an enchanting performance at TD Garden. The concert — originally scheduled for Aug. 12 — was postponed due to Nicks’ shoulder injury. The reschedule, however, did not deter crowds of loyal fans from filing into the venue, decked out in Nicks’ signature whimsigoth and bohemian styles. Although Nicks has not written a new album in recent years, she has maintained an active status in the industry by touring frequently and collaborating with top artists such as Billy Joel and Harry Styles. Her 2025 solo tour sought to revive her own, as well as Fleetwood Mac’s, classics.

Despite the fully packed venue, the opening of the concert was missing some energy. Nicks began her set with a cover of “Not Fade Away” by Buddy Holly and The Crickets. The song’s “Bo Diddley beat” gave it a leisurely, intimate feel rather than a gripping one. Nicks transported her audience to a ’70s disco party, but it was evident that TD Garden’s large size failed to capture the magic of her live performance — the further back one went in the audience, the harder it became to stay engaged or tap into the groovy atmosphere.

The mood in the arena was relatively restrained throughout the first 15 minutes. However, the crowd let out a yelp of joy when Nicks announced her next song would be “Outside the Rain,” a fan-favorite off of her “Bella Donna” record. The excitement peaked when Nicks sneakily segued the song into Fleetwood Mac’s most popular hit, “Dreams.” The lyrics melded together perfectly — the former laments about the sense of heartache and loneliness in the dreary rain, while the latter describes the emotional clarity and cleansing after a stormy, tumultuous life event — from “Outside the rain / And the heart skips a beat / So you’re lonely” to “When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know.”

Nicks took advantage of the audience’s enthusiasm to share heartwarming career stories and provide context for her solo works. For example, she recounted her first meeting with musician Tom Petty and chuckled at the fact that she was “dressed to the nines” ahead of their “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” recording session. She also mentioned running back and forth between studios to sing with Harry Styles and to simultaneously finish producing pro-choice anthem “The Lighthouse” in 2024. These short and humorous narratives were interwoven into her setlist, allowing audience members to feel closer to Nicks as a person and understand the creative process or messages behind each song.

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Nicks’ bubbly and sincere character shone through even more as she showed off her various capes. She spun in circles on stage, donning her velvety “Bella Donna,” glittering “Stand Back” with polka dots, as well as her glamorous and fringy “Gold Dust Woman” consecutively. She interacted frequently with her backup singers and guitarist Waddy Wachtel, playfully prancing around and shaking her hips in front of them. In addition, she took a long break before her finale “Edge of Seventeen,” during which Wachtel and Nicks’ keyboardist impressed the crowd with their high technical skill and geared up for her re-entrance.

At the end of her main set, Nicks expressed her sentiment and gratitude for everyone involved in her artistic career. “We love you so much we don’t care how old we are,” said the 77-year-old singer, addressing the audience and hinting at returning again with more shows. She dedicated her encore song “Landslide” to the son of her vocal coach Steve Real. As she sang the chorus, with its lyrics centered around the passage of time, she left the audience in a teary and pensive state, successfully touching the hearts of both older and younger generations.

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