Knowing ahead of time that Heart - the revolutionary rock band fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson - would be bringing their renowned rocktastic passion and energy to a simply wondrous 16-song set tonight in the form of two sets (all be they only separated by a quick instrumental drum break), I was in my seat and ready at 7:30pm (unlike some unlucky others who arrived four songs from the end of the show, expecting that the ladies would have had an opening band - which they did not here tonight).

A few minutes later the lights dimmed, the quietly simplistic stage backdrop lit up and there was Ann, comfortably perched atop a stool center stage (due to a recent accident where she broke her left elbow in three places, meaning she didn’t want to have it hanging down if she stood up for the whole show) and Nancy, smiling broadly, looking happy and ready to bring her guitar skills quickly to the fore.

First up on their Royal Flush Tour was their brilliant cut from 1980 Bébé le Strange which was itself backed by a forceful Never (a song that showcased just how well they transitioned so seamlessly from the previous decade’s sound). “Hey everybody, how are you?” Ann asks the packed house. “We’re so glad to be back here, back together and we’re gonna do this tonight,” she adds, resounding punching the air (a nod to the fact these new dates were rescheduled from 2024).

Up next is a song about someone very special in their lives, the jaunty pop rocker Magic Man, which proves to also be one of the best received songs of the night too. Nancy then herself thanks the crowd for coming out and adds that they will be playing songs from “... quite a few hair do’s back ago,” before launching into the much-beloved These Dreams.

“With all the bands over all the years, we are proud to have stayed together this long,” Ann says, as the band, now bathed in a beautiful red/blue-hued glow, then bring forth a beautiful Little Queen which after the band is introduced, we next get the propulsive rocker Straight On, itself segueing neatly into a cover of David Bowie’s brilliant Let’s Dance.

“This next song is about a dear friend of mine who got his heart smashed to smithereens,” Nancy says, adding “so I wrote this song about heartbreak for him.” That song is the beautiful ballad Love Mistake. “When we wrote this next song we felt like the world was going to hell in a handbasket ... and we still do!” Ann reveals, as Crazy on You opens with that now iconic acoustic guitar instrumental. With Ann now having been gently escorted off stage, Nancy sits center stage with her acoustic, albeit amplified guitar where she tells a story of opening for Van Halen, and thus meeting Eddie Van Halen. She then proceeds to give us her beautiful instrumental tribute to him, simply entitled 4 Edward With Love.

Then Nancy walks off stage, the lights dim a little before we get an extended drum solo to signal the set break. Now, I’ve never really been a fan of drum or guitar solo moments within a live show, but this guy really peaked my curiosity with the way he seemingly bent, sometimes obscured the drum set sounds into electronic, otherworldly notes, at times melodically screeching soundscapes and such. Very inventive and highly entertaining.

Indeed, it was at the end of his statically-charged solo performance where he sonically led the ladies back out on stage to then bring us their 1977 cut Love Alive. “We have a lot to do in 2025 and so I think the best thing we can do is to do it together” Ann suggests, the band then bringing forth anther cover, this time a masterful one of Chris Thompson’s anthemic The Voice (famously made known to us in 1986 by John Farnham).

Along next is their rousing cover of Led Zeppelin’s 1973 massive track The Rain Song, a wistful ballad that showcases everything that is Heart-tastic, and which itself comes complete with one of the guitarists coming to stand and play alongside Ann, his long dreadlocks now unleashed, his guitar work impeccable throughout. Then it is time to mesh together two of their biggest hits from the mid-’80s, the massively all-embracing rock balladry of Alone and their more melodious AOL vibed What About Love.

“OK, that’s it,” jokes Ann, looking to get up from her stool, “Thank you,” she continues, “but that’s all we have,” she jokingly adds, before Nancy comes over to her and they chat back and forth about the fact they do indeed have more songs they could sing tonight.

Recorded for a friend of theirs that sadly passed away, their so-called fake encore (as they never leave the stage) begins with the tender acoustic ballad cover of The Lovemongers track Sand (“... a song that you might not have heard before,” Ann ponders).

Bringing the show to a rousing conclusion, they then launch into a song that gets everyone up and on their feet, the still possibly underappreciated gem from Led Zeppelin, the guitar riff/drum fill combos of the rhythmical jam session-feel to The Ocean, the set closing out in a rip-roaring Barracuda (a song that sees Nancy at her rock goddess heights, not only playing the funky guitar lines to perfection, but bouncing across the stage, smiling from ear to ear, her love for the song evidently showcased in every move her body makes).

“Thank you so much,” Ann says at its conclusion, waving to the crowd as she is once again gently escorted arm-in-arm off stage, with Nancy’s “Goodnight. Thank you so much,” following close behind, along with her blown stage kisses to everyone.

Review and Live Photos by: Russell A. Trunk

www.heart-music.com

www.annwilson.com