DON’T STOP
Fleetwood Mac tribute Tusk heading to Michigan City
One of Scott McDonald’s earliest musical influences was Lindsey Buckingham, former lead guitarist and male lead singer for the rock band Fleetwood Mac.
“I liked Lindsey’s voice. I ended up, through fate, having that sort of range. I like the way that he uses a lot of rhythms in the way that he writes,” said McDonald, guitarist and vocalist for Tusk, which bills itself as the world’s No. 1 tribute to Fleetwood Mac.
“I also like him because he’s very innovative. He never rested in the same spot. He was always trying to create different-sounding music and move forward. That’s the sign of a true artist.”
McDonald estimated that he is in his 15th year of paying tribute to Fleetwood Mac via Tusk, which performs its note-for-note renditions April 8 at Uptown Social in Michigan City as part of the band’s spring tour.
“We’re doing obviously a lot
of the hits. Because we have three lead singers there’s three different styles so everyone gets something,” said McDonald of Pennsylvania.
“We do go back to the beginning and do some Peter Green blues. There’s visuals. The costumes are there. We’ve incorporated a few creative elements of ours. We try to make it big fun so people can enjoy themselves for two hours and forget their troubles.”
Primarily covering Fleetwood Mac material from 1975-80, Tusk features Kathy Phillips (vocals) as frontwoman Stevie Nicks,
Kim Williams (vocals and keys) as Christine McVie, McDonald as Buckingham, Tom Nelson (drums) as Mick Fleetwood and Randy Artiglere (bass) as John McVie.
McDonald discovered Fleetwood Mac when the group released the 1977 album “Rumours,” which has been certified diamond twice by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling a total of 20 million units.
“I was just starting to learn guitar and, of course, I was immersed in all that ‘70s music, Queen and Billy Joel,” said McDonald, who began taking guitar lessons at 9 years old.
“I remember listening to ‘Rumours.’ For a while I thought Stevie was the guy and Lindsey was the girl. I used to love that album. I opened it up and it had the lyrics to it.”
A couple of songs from “Rumours” are among McDonald’s favorites in Tusk’s set.
“I really like ‘The Chain’ because it’s a whole band song. Everybody gets to showcase on that one,” he said.
“I also like ‘Go Your Own Way.’ There’s a lot of energy in that song.”
McDonald, who has seen Fleetwood Mac in concert a couple of times including on Thanksgiving in the 1990s at Madison Square Garden in New York City, said the music remains popular because of how well-crafted the songs are.
“It’s just great music, great melodies,” he said.
“These are great songs and great songs will transcend time. It reminds people of a lot of good times in their lives.”
Of the many shows that Tusk has performed since circa 2008, a performance with The Desert Symphony in January 2020, in Palm Desert, California, is one of the standouts for McDonald.
“We did have a chance to play with a 60-piece orchestra,” he said.
Tusk is named after Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 double album.
“It’s been the same five of us since the beginning so there’s longevity in terms of how in sync we are with each other onstage,” McDonald said.
“If you stay with a band long enough with the same members, you can really continue to get better and better. That’s what’s makes us such a fun group. We also try to make it a fun show and incorporate a few things here and there about ourselves.”
Northwest Indiana-based Nawty, which bills itself as performing music from Motown on up, opens the Tusk concert at 7 p.m. April 8 at Uptown Social.
“We’ve never been there before. We love it when we go to a totally new venue,” McDonald said.
“We’re really looking forward to bringing our show there and hope everybody enjoys it and sings and dances and shares the music.”