Fleetwood Mac Mania brings iconic songs to Coshocton Saturday

COSHOCTON — Presenting some of the most iconic rock songs of all time by Fleetwood Mac to people who have never heard them live before is the goal of a band playing as part of a Downtown Coshocton summer concert series.

Fleetwood Mac Mania will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Coshocton Court Square. They follow the annual Three Rivers Fire District Car Show starting at noon with awards at 4:45 p.m.

It's the second in a free concert series sponsored by Our Town Coshocton in cooperation with the city and Councilman Chad Johnson. Double Vision, a tribute act to Foreigner, was on June 25, and country singer ERNEST is slated for Aug. 5 following First Farm Friday.

Connie Scriver fills the Christine McVie role in Fleetwood Mac Mania on vocals and keyboards. The rest of the lineup includes Jenn Taylor, who doubles for Stevie Nicks, Jeremy Stimers in the Lindsey Buckhingham role and Eddie Cromwell manning the drums like Mick Fleetwood.

Scriver said this group has been together about 10 years. She had performed in other Fleetwood Mac tribute acts for about 20 years.

"I just fell in love with the music and how it translated into crowds and the way the music really touches people, the strong harmonies and timeless writing," Scriver said. "We really try to be as authentic as possible to the recorded music that hit the airwaves that people know and love and turn up when their favorite song comes on the radio."

Scriver said they do most of the landmark 1977 "Rumors" album with songs like "Dreams," "Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way" and "You Make Loving Fun." Tunes off of "Tusk," "Mirage" and the band's self-titled album are also regulars. Along with Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits, they also perform some of Stevie Nicks' solo songs such as "Edge of Seventeen" and "Stand Back." Cromwell even comes out from behind the drum kit to fill Don Henley's part of the duet "Leather and Lace" with Taylor.

"We just try to keep it moving and exciting," Scriver said.

Scriver said one of the best things about Fleetwood Mac is they have such a deep catalog that you can change songs up easily. One of her favorite songs is the deep cut "World Turning," that often gets left out for time constraints. It's a bluegrass number with McVie and Buckingham on vocals.

Scriver knows it's much easier to cut that song than one of the major hits people have come out to hear. Even though she has performed these songs hundreds of times, it's the crowd's anticipation that keeps her and the rest of the group going. If Scriver is ever weary of a tune, she tries to look at it through the eyes of the audience.

"I'm a musician, but I'm really an entertainer at the end of the day and entertainers tend to look at songs and their performances through the eyes of their audiences," she said. "I look in the faces of people that never heard me sing a certain song, never heard us perform it, and I look at how they respond to it and that's where I get kind of a thrill."

For more information on Fleetwood Mac Mania, go to fleetwoodmacmania.com.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Fleetwood Mac Mania brings iconic songs to Coshocton Saturday