The Gold Dust Woman Show had a good deal of hype leading up to the event last week in Kāpiti, so what was the verdict.
Well a full crowd at Southwards went nuts for it. Singing (and many dancing) along to Stevie Nicks’ numbers well known to the audience.
Fantastic, brilliant, wow…, you get the picture. These were comments from a hugely appreciative audience and the star of the show – the Kiwi Gold Dust Woman herself was Rachel Williams – who has a great stage presence and a voice Stevie Nicks would be thrilled to hear – seriously she is that good.
Williams says while she dabbled in the pub scene playing covers in local bands, she always knew her true dream was being on stage singing the songs of her idol and inspiration.
“Stevie Nicks’ lyrics could nurture my spirit and lift my soul. Many times I got knocked down, and I picked myself up and dusted myself off. Stevie Nicks gave me the wings I needed to let my spirit believe. I now have a voice to share my dream and encourage everyone that you can turn dust into gold.”
Williams shared the stage with a top class backing band. Lead guitarist Cam Sutton is a Kāpiti local who owns and runs The Family Music Store in Paraparaumu. Sutton says he grew up with the music of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks as his parents were fans.
Sutton’s guitar solos were outstanding and greeted with wild applause. Drummer Jared Carson didn’t miss a beat and he gave the show its driving energy all night. Bass guitarist Robbie Graham also added vocals and again produced the night’s highly professional sound.
Mr versatile was keyboard player Mitch Dean who also played guitar and added impressive vocals.
Backing singers Olivia Boyle and Bridget O’Shanassy were pure class and gave great vocal support to Williams.
Sharing the billing on the show was the outstanding Greg White who did a couple of sets as Tom Petty and played rhythm guitar and really set the crowd off with his huge energy and top quality renditions of Petty’s stadium music.
So was the hype for the show right – in this case yes it absolutely was. The crowd stomped and cheered and bayed for more at the end and were rewarded with a brilliant encore. If you get the chance to see this show, book it. Tour dates: www.golddustwoman.co.nz/tour-dates
Show review by Nigel Wilson
