The original Bella Donna cape, a Harry Styles guest appearance, and candid conversational interludes: Stevie Nicks closed out Saturday’s BST Hyde Park in a balance of heart, rock, and sincerity that only the legend herself could accomplish. For two hours, her captivating power was on full force — evident not only on stage, where her soaring belts, eye-catching capes, and lyrical expertise commanded attention, but in the crowd as well, where listeners of all ages, from across the UK and beyond, came together under one crescent moon. A reflection of the unifying magic of Stevie Nicks, Hyde Park became a mishmash of individuals whose main commonalities were black hats, high emotions, a deep connection to the ‘70s icon, and a soaring love and appreciation for incredible music.

As intimate and honest as she is otherworldly and larger-than-life, her chilling vocals and spectacular visuals were complimented equally with rambling stories and homages to Tom Petty — who she last saw when they performed together in the UK in 2017 — and Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie, who passed suddenly in 2022. Part rock show, part living room chat. There is nobody who does it like Nicks.

So what is it like to perform on the same lineup as such an inspiration? Wonderland caught up with artists Nina Nesbitt, Paris Paloma, and Siobhán Winifred, all of whom opened for Nicks on Saturday, to find out. TLDR: it’s a nerve-racking honour, an out-of-body experience, and after seeing Nicks as a role model for many years, a beautiful full circle moment.

“Anyone would dream of being on a bill with Stevie Nicks,” Paris Paloma tells me as we connect after her set, where she opened up the main stage, the Great Oak Stage. Dressed in a witchy gown not unlike something Nicks may pick out herself, the UK singer-songwriter explains the crazy invisible strings that have tied her and the headliner together. “I was actually recording a song… and I wrote a line referencing Stevie Nicks in it. And then a week later, my manager called me and told me about this opportunity to open and it felt like such a spooky correlation. I’ve just had the most fun, it was incredible opening up that stage.”

Siobhán Winifred has a similar kismet story. “I used to make YouTube videos and do covers, and about five years ago, I covered ‘Landslide,’ the Stevie Nicks version,” she explains, sitting in her trailer backstage. “I think I’d seen it on some sort of talent show and I was like, ‘this song is just heartbreaking and beautiful’… and now I’m here, on the same bill as her. It’s a very important song to me and this gig is just wild, it’s so cool to see myself get here and it’s honestly such an honour, genuinely.”

For Scottish folk-pop artist Nina Nesbitt, this wasn’t her first time opening up for Nicks, whom she joined as a support act in Dublin earlier this month. “It was one of the best nights of my life… just because, it’s Stevie Nicks, obviously.” She laughs. “We walked into the venue and they were sound-checking her cover of ‘Free Fallin’’ by Tom Petty and I was like, ‘what?’ And a lot of her band are her day one friends, from even before she was famous, and to see those people on the stage playing that kind of music… I feel like I’m watching history.”

Read the full interviews below…

Tell us about yourself and your music!
Hi, I’m Nina! I’m from Scotland, I’ve been making music for over 10 years, and I’m releasing a new album called Mountain Music in September.

What can you tell us about Mountain Music?
It’s my first folk album, so it’s a departure from where I’ve been before, but I think it’s my favourite that I’ve made. We recorded it as literally just a bunch of musicians in a room on a tape machine from the 70s. We just hit record — it’s very raw and in the moment.

You’re opening for Stevie Nicks on several UK dates in addition to Hyde Park — what have you learned so far from this experience?
So far I’ve done one date supporting her in Dublin and it was one of the best nights of my life… just because, it’s Stevie Nicks, obviously. We walked into the venue and they were sound-checking her cover of “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty and I was like, ‘what?’ And a lot of her band are her day one friends, from even before she was famous, and to see those people on the stage playing that kind of music… I feel like I’m watching history. It was amazing — and it was really nerve wracking playing to her audience, because they’re obviously such music fans and maybe harder to win over. But it went really, really well.

How was the crowd today?
It was a real mixture today! Some people really knew my old music so I was like, ‘okay, there’s some pop fans here,’ and then definitely some Stevie fans in the capes and the coats.

What is your favourite song of yours to play live?
My favourite song kind of depends on the venue, but today I played one of my new songs, “I’m Coming Home,” and the crowd was singing and it was a nice moment, so I’ll say that one.

Is there a song of yours that you’re most proud of?
Either a song called “The Best You Had” which is my top streaming song, or a song called “Parachute” on my upcoming album, which I just love so much.

Favourite Stevie Nicks song?
“Edge of Seventeen.” I know that’s like the obvious answer, but seeing that in Dublin was insane.

Tell us about yourself and your music!
Hi, I’m Paris Paloma. I’m from Derbyshire, which is rural England, in the Midlands. I think that probably informed my writing a fair bit, and when I started writing, it was very folk at the time and came from that guitar, singer-songwriter storytelling tradition. The way that I write now has developed, but still stays very true to that I think.

How would you describe your sound today?
I heard someone call it witch pop or dark pop? I don’t really know what those two things mean, but dark pop/folk/indie sounds kind of right to me.

Is there a song of yours that you are most proud of?
I think I’m immensely proud of a song called “My Mind Now.” It felt like we were trying something really different sonically that harkened back to a lot of big inspirations of mine, in the form of other artists. And it also felt like such an amazing introduction for the sound of the album as it’s the first song on the album… and that comes out next month.

What can you tell us about the album, Cacophony?
It’s 15 songs and it sort of tells the story of my mental journey through adversity and pain and darkness. All of the songs are born from that chaos and that pain, because music and songwriting is my outlet, it’s my way of making sense of those things. And that’s sort of what they have in common. It’s a creation story in that way, where the chaos and the darkness forces art to be made in order to help you live with it. And then we end up at this really uplifting moment at the end of the album.

How does it feel to be on the bill with Stevie Nicks?
I think it will be a while until the reality of me having done that has sunk in, because it was such an incredible opportunity. Anyone would dream of being on a bill with Stevie Nicks and she’s such an inspiration of mine.

I was actually recording a song — which isn’t on this album — and I wrote a line referencing Stevie Nicks in it. And then a week later, my manager called me and told me about this opportunity to open and it felt like such a spooky, witchy correlation. I’ve just had the most fun, it was incredible opening up that stage.

What about her inspires you?
She’s just such a force of magic and creativity and inspiration and I think we all see so many things in her that resonates the most with us, whether it’s her rage, her strength, her force, or her love that she writes about and speaks to. She’s such a strong character for women in the music industry to be looking up to, as well. I want to be like her — I think everyone wants to be like her.

Favourite Stevie Nicks song?
“Edge of Seventeen.” It’s such a classic. It’s that one that you want to scream along with your friends. My memories of that song are my best female friends and I just sort of shouting that in clubs on an 80s night or something.

Tell us about yourself and your music!
Hey, I’m Siobhán Winifred! I’m an indie pop, indie rock artist, making lots of songs about heartbreak and mental health and all that good stuff.

I started off with just an acoustic guitar, which sort of shapes the sound to be very folky. Especially with sad lyrics, it puts that in a category, and I really wanted to get into a full band [sound]. I love listening to indie rock, so I really wanted to move into that space. So the past past year or so I’ve really built that and my songs sound a lot more like the people I’m influenced by, like Sam Thunder and Boygenius.

What inspires you about Stevie Nicks and how does it feel to be on the bill with her?
Funnily enough, I used to make YouTube videos and do covers, and about five years ago, I covered “Landslide,” the Stevie Nicks version. I think I’d seen it on some sort of talent show and I was like, ‘this song is just heartbreaking and beautiful.’ So then I got into her through that. It’s privated on my Youtube now, but it’s really bizarre, looking back and it’s like ‘six years ago’ or something like that, and now I’m here… on the same bill as her. I feel like my music career kind of opened up a little bit from finding that song and covering it. It’s a very important song to me and this gig is just wild, it’s so cool to see myself get here and it’s honestly such an honour, genuinely.

What was the crowd like today?
So warm! I was nervous because, obviously, coming to a festival you’re like, ‘nobody’s gonna know any of my music’ and ‘I have to win them over!’ But it was a big crowd, I was quite surprised. Seeing people sing along but also people that are just having a good time even if they don’t know the music, it just makes it so much more fun. I feel like Stevie Nicks is gonna have nice fans, you know? I feel like they’re just really into good music and getting involved.

Is there a song of yours you’re most proud of?
I’d probably say my song “Keep Sweet.” It’s really the simplest one — it’s literally two verses and two choruses — but then it goes into a very Boygenius style big outro with cellos and loads of guitar layers and screaming and stuff and it feels like a piece of art.

Can you tell us a bit about your latest release, “Lungs”?
My boyfriend will say that none of the songs I have out are about him, so it was really nice to write a song that was about feeling good and happy and in love and being around someone that makes you feel like you can breathe again. There’s a line in it that says ‘drawing circles on your hand’ which is about being long distance — I have a song called “Black Hole” and he drew a little black hole on his hand for it — and now fans come to the gigs with a black hole on their hand and they were in the crowd today and came up afterwards and it was so special. Not only did I find a lot of new fans [through “Lungs”], but it’s also about the person I love.

Fandom culture is incredible.
They are the most dedicated people, they make people’s careers. Genuinely, I would not be doing what I’m doing if it wasn’t for people listening and doing all of the work for me [laughs]. They’re spreading it around and getting people to come to gigs, it’s really moving, the fact that they put so much effort into helping me fulfil my dreams. These are the sort of people that you can go to a gig on your own and they’ll just bring you in and embrace you.

What else are you looking forward to?
I’m doing my first ever headline show, but also headline tour, in October. It was just a show and then it sold out on the same day, so we were like, ‘let’s just make it a tour.’ So yeah, going around the country, which will be amazing. I’ve never done a headline show before though, so throwing myself right into the deep end. But it’s going to be so fun. I’m so, so excited for that. And releasing some music as well to go along with it, which will be really cool.

Watch the video and see more from BST Hyde Park on our TikTok.