NEW YORK - Stevie Nicks 2024 Live in Concert TourStevie Nicks. Phenomenon and phenomenal. End of review.No, seriously, even though you can describe Nicks with just those two words, she’s so much more.Hard Rock Etess Arena in Atlantic CityNicks started her 2024 North American tour in Atlantic City and filled the 7,000-seat Hard Rock Etess Arena in Atlantic City. Few in the audience sat down during her two-hour performance, and she encouraged the crowd to sing along with her and most obliged. Rolling Stone titled her “The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll,” and she showed the expertise of her craft throughout the night.Nicole AtkinsSinger-songwriter and local Jersey girl Nicole Atkins was the warm-up act. Atkins has been active in the music industry since 2002, having produced six albums. She played several favorite songs, including Neptune City, from her first album with the same name. Nicole Atkins. Courtesy nicoleatkins.comTom Petty’s Runnin’ Down a DreamThe pre-show opening song was Tom Petty’s Runnin’ Down a Dream, and the crowd's roar was deafening as Nicks stepped on stage. She told the crowd she had been in Atlantic City rehearsing with her band for a week and enjoyed the beautiful view from her hotel. The beach-loving Jersey crowd applauded.Outside the RainNicks opened with Outside the Rain, from her 1981 debut solo album Bella Donna. She looked like an enchantress as usual, and her distinctive contralto voice was powerful after decades of performing.DreamsNicks followed with Dreams, a song she wrote for Fleetwood Mac’s eleventh studio album that hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1977. Nicks performed more Fleetwood Mac hits like Gypsy, Gold Dust Woman and encored with Rhiannon.Stop Draggin’ My Heart AroundNicks spoke to the audience with a sorrowful tone as she paid tribute to her longtime friend, Tom Petty, who passed away in 2017. She was in love with Petty’s music style and practically stalked him; they became friends in 1978. The collaboration with Petty, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, launched her solo career. Their duet first appeared on Bella Donna and was on the Billboard charts for 21 weeks, with their video one of the first on MTV. Although Petty wasn’t on stage, you could sense his spirit lived on in Nicks’s touching performance.Leather and LaceNicks introduced her long-time voice coach, Steve Real Vasquez, saying he was the reason her voice is still so strong to this day. The two performed the Don Henley-Nicks duet Leather and Lace, the 1982 hit which reached number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks straight.LandslideAll of Nicks’s music is profound, and she shared much of her emotional insight on life with the crowd. She promoted voting and her support for Ukraine. Again, she encored with a tribute to Tom Petty, engaging the crowd to sing along to his megahit Free Fallin’. Nicks ended her show with the song Landslide, a sentimental tribute to her friend and Fleetwood Mac keyboard/vocalist Christine McVie, who passed away in 2022.HealingNicks passed on her mother’s advice: “Stevie, when you’re hurt, run to the stage, and it makes you get better.” She thanked the audience for contributing to her healing. The crowd couldn’t argue- she’s got a hold of all her fans.Stevie Nicks' 2024 Live in Concert Tour is performing now through June 21Readers may also enjoy our reviews of The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony presents Centenary in Blue, There’s A Little Starch Left at Don’t Tell Mama, Women on Fire: Fair is Foul, Aristocrats at the Irish Rep Theater, The Life & Times of Michael K at St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Sweet Spot, and The Days of Wine and Roses.https://youtu.be/Y3ywicffOj4?si=RIuMONAeKI2G96wZ
