As part of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist, Stevie Nicks has been beloved for decades. She has a unique sound and aesthetic that is often imitated but never duplicated, and she basically helped create the blueprint for folksy, ethereal women with airy vocals and a lot of big arm movements.
Stevie Nicks is one-of-a-kind, but if you’re looking for a similar vibe in a contemporary artist, we’ve got a list for you right here. Check out six modern artists who have curated a Stevie Nicks-like influence in their music, from Nicks’ 1970s folksiness to her rock and roll side, from her softer, raw lyrics and even to her use of synth in the 1980s.
[RELATED: Stevie Nicks’ Advice to Her 28-Year-Old Self]
Weyes Blood
Weyes Blood—AKA Natalie Laura Mering—generally sings in a lower register than Stevie Nicks, but it’s the overall vibe and dreaminess of Weyes Blood’s vocals that likens her to Nicks. She has an organically folksy sound with a soft ethereality as she sings about love and longing, subjects that Nicks also frequented. It’s easy to find a little “Bella Donna” or “Rhiannon” in Weyes Blood songs like “Andromeda” and “Wild Time.”
HAIM
The sister trio HAIM has been influenced by Stevie Nicks in the past, and listening to their discography, it’s easy to make connections. HAIM draws from Nicks’ rock and roll side and less from her folksiness, showing off Nicks’ many inspirational facets. HAIM has those ethereal three-part harmonies that Nicks often fabricates with herself, and overall, they just have a similar swagger. Stevie Nicks songs like “Stand Back” can be heard on HAIM tracks like “The Wire” or “Little of Your Love.”
Adrianne Lenker
Adrianne Lenker—vocalist for Big Thief—has a bountiful solo career that echoes the more stripped-down, raw folk side of Stevie Nicks. Her vocals are light and airy, but the piano and guitar have a heavier, clunky quality (this is a compliment) that seem to draw from a deep emotional place. In Lenker’s solo music there’s more of a taste of Nicks’ “Leather and Lace,” “Wild Heart,” or “Sorcerer” than her outright rock and roll tracks.
Florence Welch
Another ethereal, angelic woman, Florence Welch possesses the same otherworldly qualities that Stevie Nicks does. They both also look great in long flowing dresses and scarves. Their vocals are unique in similar ways—which seems like a complete contradiction—but overall there isn’t really anyone quite like either of them. Caroline Polachek’s vocals are also similarly one-of-a-kind, but she leans more Kate Bushy than Stevie Nicks. For Florence Welch, her style seems to channel the theatricality of songs like “Edge of Seventeen” and “Trouble in Shangri-La.”
Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis is better known as the lead singer and multi-instrumentalist for the band Rilo Kiley, but she has had a blossoming solo career as well. Lewis definitely embodies Nicks’ 1970s groove more than anything on songs like her recent “Psychos.” She also touches on the folksiness of Nicks’ music with Fleetwood Mac at that time. Although Lewis is more like Stevie Nicks with the band than Nicks’ 1980s solo work, there are still hints of Lewis’ style on Nicks songs like “Stand Back.”
Tennis
Finally, Tennis—made up of husband and wife Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley—has the airy vocals reminiscent of Stevie Nicks, but is more on the synthy side of things. The vocals are there, as well as the overall groovy rock and roll vibes. However, while Tennis employs more synth beats and electronica in their discography, their rhythms and vocals touch on Stevie Nicks’ from songs like “Rooms on Fire” and “Ooh My Love” from her 1989 album The Other Side of the Mirror.
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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