Rock ‘n’ Roll icon Stevie Nicks played an electrifying, sold out show at the newly renovated People’sBank Area in downtown Hartford on Oct. 25. Nicks’ tour kickstarted the night of Oct. 1 in Portland, Oregon, after having to reschedule the original dates beginning in August and September due to a shoulder injury that would ultimately prevent her from performing the late summer shows.
Nicks, notably known for her role in the legendary British-American rock band, Fleetwood Mac, has become a household name across the world of music and continues to sell thousands of records and tickets yearly at the age of 77.
The Hartford performance was highly anticipated across Connecticut as Peoples Bank Arena, formally known as the XL Civic Center, went under $145 million worth of renovations beginning in May of 2025 and finishing just in time for Nicks’ scheduled show in late October.
American singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton opened for Nicks as a solo pianist, performing a collection of songs from both released and unreleased albums, including her hit song “A Thousand Miles” from her 2002 album.
Nicks came on at precisely 8:20 p.m., opening with “Not Fade Away” and accompanied by her set of backup vocalists, strings, keys, and drummer under the Hartford stage lights. Following the opening song, Nicks, properly greeted by the crowd, shared her excitement to be performing in good health.
“We’re really glad to be here,” Nicks said through the cheers of the audience. “Because we certainly, two months ago, did not think we would be here. But we are.”
She then performed back-to-back songs “If Anyone Falls” from her 1983 album The Wild Heart and “Outside the Rain” from her 1981 solo debut album Bella Donna. Under the colorful, jumping lights, Nicks’ voice was steady, strong, and undoubtedly captivating.
Returning to her Fleetwood Mac Rumours roots, Nicks brings out all the stops for “Dreams” and shares with the crowd the story of how she wrote the song in ten or so minutes while recording the record-breaking album. The song is known to be a response to Lindsey Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way”, also featured on Rumours, about Buckingham and Nicks’ relationship breakup. She recalls “sassily” walking back into the studio during those sessions with the song, exclaiming that this was something they were really going to like. Without surprise, the song was loved by the studio, and the song was recorded on the same day for the album.
Continuing to share her nostalgia, Nicks tells the story of then recording “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, another Bella Donna song, with fellow 70s rock legend Tom Petty, frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Nicks and Petty’s collaboration is arguably one of the greatest duos in all of music, their friendship skyrocketing from the early 1980s until Petty’s death in 2017.
Nicks explains that while Petty wrote the song originally for his band at the time, producers soon realized that the song sounded better as a duet. Needing a female voice, Petty had Nicks featured on the song, both making Nicks’ Bella Donna record and the Heartbreakers’ Hard Promises in the same year.
Nicks continued to play the song in its intended duet nature, her lead guitarist Waddy Wachtel taking on Petty’s part. Live, the performance has remnants of the 1997 “Silver Springs” extravaganza, both Wachtel and Nicks holding intense eye contact throughout almost the entirety of the song.
Her most recent release, not including the Buckingham-Nicks remaster in the fall of 2025, is the August 2024 single “The Lighthouse”. The song was written in response to the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade. The song urges young women to stand up against oppression, one of its recurring lines telling listeners: “Don’t let them take your power.”
After writing the song following the Dobbs 2022 case, Nicks continued to work on the songs as she traveled between cities and countries, taking them to multiple producers for their spin on them. Never having the chance to play it live until now, Nicks puts her heart and soul into its lyrics and performance. It is an emotional and riveting experience.
For her mashup of Wild Heart/Bella Donna, Nicks brought out onto stage the original blue Bella Donna shawl. With its rich contrast of dark navys to a purply-bluish fringe, she pays homage to her first two solo albums in the early ’80s.
Concluding Bella Donna/Wild Heart, Nicks plays “Stand Back”, a synth-rock and electropop off from the 1983 record. Adding to her collection of incredible stories from her career in the music industry, Nicks recounts the memory of how Prince became an uncredited feature to the song and even helped record it.
On the way to her honeymoon, just after marrying Kim Anderson, Nick’s former husband, she was suddenly struck with inspiration, hearing Prince’s “Little Red Corvette”. She immediately turned back around, heading to the studio where she called Prince to ask permission to use samples of his song for the version she had just written.
“Hello, Prince, this is Stevie Nicks,” Nicks recites, laughing at the memory of how Prince had replied. “Hello Stevie Nicks, this is Prince.”
Prince was at the recording studio only twenty minutes after the call, and soon, “Stand Back” was made.
Circling back to her roots for the end of the regular set, Nicks covers Petty’s iconic hit, “Free Fallin'”, not just in memory of their long and beautiful friendship, but also in appreciation for the impact he left on the world of music. Following this, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is paid its respect again with “Gold Dust Woman”, a mystical and enchanting song Nicks wrote about the allure and struggles of the rock ‘n roll scene during its peak, referencing cocaine and the complicated feelings of temptation and jealously, as well as “Gypsy”, an infamous staple of the band’s 1970s era charm.
In the final song before the encore set, Nicks plays arguably her most famous song of her solo career, off the Bella Donna record, “Edge of Seventeen”. The song is a perfect blend of intense rock ‘n’ roll with Nicks’ own unique, witchy elements. Nicks moves with grace and a fiery spirit as she waves to fans in the audience, dancing lightly across the dance.
In the closing set, the bands play their last song of the night, from the 1975 Fleetwood Mac self-titled album, “Rhiannon.” Live, she brings her own twist to the song, still keeping the same ethereal and magical composure as the original studio record.
In an emotional ending to a fabulous and unforgettable night, Nicks performs the acoustic, incredibly moving “Landslide” in memory of the late Christie McVie, former pianist of Fleetwood Mac and close friend of Nicks. McVie died in November of 2022, and since her passing, Nicks has found the song to be difficult to play without McVie by her side.
Overall, Nicks’ performance is a testament to the spirit she has brought for decades to the Rock ‘n’ Roll scene. Her voice will be one never forgotten for many years to come, and seeing her has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will be unconditionally grateful for.