Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart Reunite in New York City
It was the Wilson sisters – and Heart bandmates’ – first performance in nearly three years, and it marked an end to a well-publicized split.
Last night, Ann and Nancy Wilson shared the stage since the last night of Heart’s infamous 2016 tour. During that tour, a clash between Ann’s husband and Nancy’s children caused a major rift between the sisters. Happily, that all seems to be in the past.
The Wilsons were performing at the third annual “Love Rocks” concert: a benefit for the New York charity, God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that cooks and home delivers medically tailored meals for people living with severe illness in the New York City metropolitan area, for free.
As the duo walked on stage, Nancy simply said, “Thank you for being here for this wonderful night of hunanity and kindness and goodness.” No mention was made of the split, or the reunion (the band has already announced a major summer tour). The sisters, backed by the house band (led by Will Lee, formerly of Davd Letterman’s band, it also included Lee’s former boss Paul Shaffer, Saturday Night Live drummer Shawn Pelton, Paul Simon’s former drummer Steve Gadd and Bob Dylan’s former guitarist Larry Campbell), performed two songs. They split vocals on their huge ’80s-era hit “These Dreams,” before going into their ’70s rock classic “Crazy On You.” Some fans hoped for Sheryl Crow to join them, as she performed earlier in the night, and was wearing a glittery Heart t-shirt.
The Wilsons, along with Grace Potter, Jimmie Vaughan, Taj Majal and Lukas Nelson (son of Willie) later joined headliner Robert Plant for a rousing take on Big Joe Turner’s early rock and roll classic, “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” with each sister singing lead on a verse. They stayed for the all star finale, which included the aforementioned artists, as well as other acts including Hozier and Larkin Poe, for Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright.”
The chemistry between the sisters seems to be back; they seemed to enjoy playing together again, and the audience was visibly moved by seeing them together again, something that seemed unlikely just a year ago.
