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Stevie Nicks plays Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida on Dec. 7, 2025. Credit: Mark LoMoglio \/ c\/o Benchmark International Arena<\/p>\nStevie Nicks plays Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida on Dec. 7, 2025. Credit: Mark LoMoglio \/ c\/o Benchmark International Arena<\/p>\n
A recording of Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cRunnin\u2019 Down a Dream\u201d brought Stevie Nicks<\/a> onstage last Sunday night\u2014and fittingly so. It was Petty, Nicks told a crowd of 15,000, who gave her a big single, \u201cStop Draggin\u2019 My Heart Around,\u201d that launched her career.<\/p>\n The 77-year-old songwriter wedged the 1981 hit between an effortlessly cool medley of \u201cOutside the Rain\u201d and Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201cDreams\u201d at Benchmark International Arena<\/a> where longtime guitarist Waddy Wachtel handled the late Petty\u2019s vocals with ease.<\/p>\n Nicks evoked the Gainesville icon\u2019s memory again in reviving her cover of \u201cFree Fallin\u2019.\u201d The recorded version from a \u201cParty Of Five\u201d soundtrack is fine, but it was more than a singalong last Sunday, with Nicks\u2019 clarion call of a vocal enchanting the sold-out arena.<\/p>\n That a Florida man made his presence known so prominently during the 15-song, two-hour and 15-minute set<\/a> was apropos, too.<\/p>\n After the opening song (a cover of Buddy Holly and the Crickets\u2019 \u201cNot Fade Away\u201d), Nicks turned small-talk about a Sunshine State deluge into magic.<\/p>\n \u201cLotta rain,\u201d she said about the weather. \u201cI made a fantastic six-minute recording of the rain on my hotel window\u2026I\u2019m gonna put it on loop and sleep to it.\u201d<\/p>\n There wasn\u2019t a lot of time to blink during last Sunday\u2019s show, however, where fans came dressed in looks from Nicks\u2019 many eras.<\/p>\n Nearly 45 years after Bella Donna hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, its creator remains one of the world\u2019s most enchanting pop stars. Enigmatic and accessible at the same time, Nicks holds audiences in the palms of her bejeweled hands.<\/p>\n A twirl after the Prince-inspired heavy-synth of \u201cStand Back\u201d drew a big cheer and was a reminder of how Nicks can masterfully move between rock and pop (that Prince felt compelled to play keys on the lead single from The Wild Heart is a whole other story). That album\u2019s title track featured a vocal that was somehow even warmer than it was on record 44 years ago. As the song bled into \u201cBella Donna,\u201d it was clear that Nicks is aging just as well as her storied catalog\u2014and capes, too, apparently.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the original \u2018Bella Donna\u2019 cape. It\u2019s never been mended, it\u2019s stayed perfect all these years,\u201d she said, showing it off.<\/p>\n Some of her most iconic tracks\u2014\u201dEdge of Seventeen\u201d plus \u201cGypsy\u201d and \u201cRhiannon\u201d by Fleetwood Mac (which played the same room in 2019<\/a>)\u2014were also magnificent, especially in the hands of longtime guitarist Waddy Wachtel.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRELATED CONTENT<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t But of course, even precious metal fades. Despite \u201cGold Dust Woman\u201d somehow being more anthemic than it is on Rumors, Nicks\u2019 appearance in Tampa last Sunday was a return delayed<\/a> after she suffered a fractured shoulder over the summer.<\/p>\n She addressed that accident in onstage banter, telling the crowd that she danced her way through rehab, but perhaps illustrated how she moves through life in showing off the cape from \u201cStand Back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is another original cape, but this one has been mended so many times,\u201d she explained, but you\u2019d never know\u2014it\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n As the world burns around us (just listen to \u201cThe Lighthouse,\u201d making its live debut on Nicks tour), the queen of classic rock made everything feel pretty close to perfect last Sunday night.<\/p>\n Images of late Fleetwood Mac keyboardist and songwriter Christine McVie were shown on the big screen during acoustic set-closer \u201cLandslide.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nicks, flanked by an eight-piece band, shows no signs of wanting to leave the road, and Tampa will undoubtedly get another chance to dance, but hearing her smoky vocal sing about climbing mountains felt especially poignant last Sunday night.<\/p>\n We\u2019re all getting older, too, afterall.<\/p>\n Setlist for Stevie Nicks at Benchmark International Arena (Tampa, Florida) on Dec. 7, 2026<\/p>\n Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly and the Crickets)<\/p>\n If Anyone Falls<\/p>\n Outside the Rain>Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)<\/p>\n Stop Dragging My Heart Around<\/p>\n The Lighthouse<\/p>\n Wild Heart>Bella Donna<\/p>\n Stand Back<\/p>\n Free Fallin\u2019 (Tom Petty cover)<\/p>\n Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac)<\/p>\n Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)<\/p>\n Edge of Seventeen<\/p>\n Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac)<\/p>\n Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)<\/p>\n Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n This article appears in Dec. 04 \u2013 10, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t
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