{"id":519992,"date":"2026-03-12T22:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/519992\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:54:08","slug":"heart-pumps-out-its-classic-tunes-and-covers-wednesday-night-at-fargos-scheels-arena-inforum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/519992\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart pumps out its classic tunes and covers Wednesday night at Fargo’s Scheels Arena – InForum"},"content":{"rendered":"

FARGO \u2014 If Heart\u2019s Ann Wilson wants to go crazy on you, just let her. You won\u2019t be sorry.<\/p>\n

The singer, her sister, guitarist Nancy and the latest lineup of their classic rock group went deep into the band\u2019s catalog in a Wednesday night show at Fargo\u2019s Scheels Arena.<\/p>\n

The results got the blood pumping.<\/p>\n

The group has been around for 51 years and despite health issues \u2014 including a bout of cancer, rounds of chemotherapy and a broken elbow that slowed down her mobility \u2014 Ann sounded as good as ever.<\/p>\n

The band did not allow press photography, but shared images from a tour photographer.<\/p>\n

\"196A1649.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Ann Wilson of Heart performs Wednesday, March 11, at Scheels Arena, Fargo.<\/p>\n

Contributed \/ Criss Cain<\/p>\n

The singer has always had a powerful voice and great control, both of which were on display during the 100-minute set. By the second song of the night, the 1985 hit \u201cNever,\u201d she was showing the flexibility to sing the pop verses and belt out the anthemic chorus.<\/p>\n

Those who saw the band the last time they played the metro area, in 2002 at the Red River Valley Fair, may say she hasn\u2019t lost a step vocally. Don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t remember it though. Neither did Ann.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is the first time we\u2019ve been here,\u201d she said a few songs in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure,\u201d Nancy asked. \u201cThey have electricity here. If they have electricity, we\u2019ve played there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heart actually first played Fargo at the Civic Center in 1977 on the group\u2019s \u201cLittle Queen\u201d tour.<\/p>\n

That song and many early ones made the setlist Wednesday night as eight of their originals were from 1975 through 1980. The band had its biggest radio success during its second act from 1985 to 1990 playing pop music, but only four of their seven hits from that period were performed.<\/p>\n

Fans of those mid-to-late 1980s power ballads may have felt shorted, but Nancy told The Forum recently that they\u2019re preferring to play more of the songs they wrote. That meant leaving out one of its highest charting songs, \u201cAll I Wanna Do is Make Love to You,\u201d a tune Ann has since called \u201chideous.\u201d<\/p>\n

If anyone was missing those numbers, you didn\u2019t hear it from the crowd. While some earlier tunes failed to become radio hits (\u201cLittle Queen,\u201d \u201cDog & Butterfly\u201d and \u201cMistral Wind\u201d) they got a nice response.<\/p>\n

\"196A0706.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Ann Wilson of Heart plays flute on “Love Alive” on Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena.<\/p>\n

Contributed \/ Criss Cain<\/p>\n

But nothing like \u201cCrazy on You.\u201d From Nancy\u2019s classical acoustic intro, the crowd was on its feet, making you wonder why they didn\u2019t open with it. Nancy\u2019s fast strumming with Ann transitioning from seductive whispers to growls and howls sounded just as urgent as it did 51 years ago.<\/p>\n

Even when Ann wasn\u2019t the main vocalist, she stole the spotlight. As Nancy sang the synthesizer hit \u201cThese Dreams,\u201d Ann sang harmony like a shadow that grew larger than the original.<\/p>\n

Nancy dedicated that tune to everyone and their big hair that survived the \u201980s.<\/p>\n

She was more earnest when she played \u201c4Edward,\u201d her acoustic memorial to her late friend, Eddie Van Halen. The homage included a riff on the iconic Van Halen hit, \u201cJump\u201d that drew cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"196A2853.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Heart on stage Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena. <\/p>\n

Contributed \/ Criss Cain<\/p>\n

There were a number of tributes to influential classic rock bands. The Wilson sisters have long been open about their love of Led Zeppelin and worked \u201cThe Rain Song\u201d and \u201cThe Ocean\u201d into the show.<\/p>\n

Even before those covers, however, the sisters showed how much Led Zeppelin rubbed off on them as songwriters. Heart opened with 1980s \u201cBebe Le Strange\u201d with a Jimmy Page inspired guitar riff. A few songs later Ann brought out a flute to play the folk infused \u201cLove Alive,\u201d mixing acoustic folk and rock, a page out of the Led Zeppelin playbook.<\/p>\n

Heart even threw in a cover of The Who\u2019s \u201cWon\u2019t Get Fooled Again\u201d for good measure.<\/p>\n

Even with the synthesizer hits of the \u201980s, Heart is a guitar band and the three guitarists besides Nancy \u2014 Ryan Walters, Ryan Wariner and Paul Moak \u2014 all stepped up to take solos on \u201cMagic Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"196A3567<\/p>\n

Heart drummer Sean T. Lane looks out as Ann Wilson sings to a packed house Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena. <\/p>\n

Contributed \/ Criss Cain<\/p>\n

Even bassist Tony Lucido got a little solo playing the intro to \u201cStraight On,\u201d a song that mixes a great strutting rhythm with Ann\u2019s sassy singing before blending into a cover of David Bowie\u2019s \u201cLet\u2019s Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the only mash-up of the night. The group made two of its biggest power ballads, \u201cWhat About Love\u201d and \u201cAlone\u201d into a two-for-one that just didn\u2019t match the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

That was to be the end of the regular set, but as Nancy was preparing to leave the stage, Ann demanded they do her version of the encore where they stay and just keep playing.<\/p>\n

They played \u201cThe Rain Song\u201d and then Walters and Wariner took guitar solos. Nancy then stepped into the spotlight, but instead of some unnecessary noodling, she started shredding the intro to the group\u2019s signature song, \u201cBarracuda,\u201d kicking her feet out and banging her head.<\/p>\n

The song was written as a response to sexist men in the record industry the Wilsons encountered starting out, but Wednesday night it sounded like Ann was singing directly at them onstage. Nearly 100 minutes into the night, she sounded just as fine and ferocious, as if she saved all the aggression she kept inside for her entire 75 years.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t the only angry female singer who wasn\u2019t letting recent ailments get in the way of rocking out.<\/p>\n

\"196A0058.JPG\"<\/p>\n

Lucinda Williams sings Wednesday, March 11, at Fargo’s Scheels Arena. <\/p>\n

Contributed \/ Criss Cain<\/p>\n

Americana singer\/songwriter Lucinda Williams opened the show pulling mostly from her 1998 classic album \u201cCar Wheels on a Gravel Road.\u201d But global chaos was a lyrical focus.<\/p>\n

She showcased the title track of her new album, \u201cWorld\u2019s Gone Wrong\u201d and stated she wished she’d written Bob Marley\u2019s \u201cSo Much Trouble in the World\u201d before playing it. She even dedicated Memphis Minnie\u2019s defiant \u201cYou Can\u2019t Rule Me\u201d to President Donald Trump. The tune was punctuated by a blistering solo from former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford.<\/p>\n

Driving it all home, she closed her hour-long set with Neil Young\u2019s protest song \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Free World,\u201d complete with a sing-along.<\/p>\n

Williams suffered a stroke in 2020 and still can\u2019t play guitar. She walked to her mic stand where she stood for her whole set.<\/p>\n

She was never a dynamic performer, but her voice maintained its warm warble, singing her ode to Blaze Foley, \u201cDrunken Angel\u201d and the joyous \u201cRighteously.\u201d Similarly, she still packs a snarl on the blues stomp of \u201cJoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t give up the fight,\u201d she said at the end of her set. \u201cPeople have the power, don\u2019t forget.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FARGO \u2014 If Heart\u2019s Ann Wilson wants to go crazy on you, just let her. You won\u2019t be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[234801,88,234802,216,234803,234804,234805,234806,234807],"class_list":["post-519992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ann-wilson-health","tag-entertainment","tag-lucinda-williams-health","tag-music","tag-what-are-heart-songs","tag-what-are-lucinda-williams-songs","tag-what-is-barracuda-about","tag-whats-at-scheels-arena","tag-who-is-nancy-wilson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}