Gallery • 11 Photos

Rob Le Cates

Scott McDonald, guitarist and vocalist, strums his electric guitar during Tusk- The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band's performance Saturday night in the Dvorak Concert Hall. Tusk hopes to return to Charleston next year.

Tusk, a Fleetwood Mac cover band, performed in the Dvorak Concert Hall Saturday night. The band covered the 1977 album “Rumors,” adding their own zest to the show.

Members of the audience of all ages said the show was a resounding success.

Heather Butler, a Toledo resident, said the vocals and instruments during “Songbird” brought tears to her eyes. Butler wore a Stevie Nicks-inspired outfit to the concert.

“Brought tears to my eyes,” Butler said. “Especially for a cover band, it’s just one of those songs that hit me in the soul, in my heart.”

Allie Hayes, a Mattoon resident, sat in the second row and during the show, jumped out of her seat and waved her hands in the air. She said taking in the band’s beauty left her at a loss for words.

“They were truly magnificent,” Hayes said. “The genuine instruments and the beauty of the whole thing, just beautiful voices.”

Hayes had listened to Fleetwood Mac growing up with her parents and still loves their music.

Although she didn’t know Tusk before the concert, she knew it was going to be a good time.

Much like Hayes, Eastern students Makenna Boyd, a senior English education major, and Ej Hicks, a graduate student studying English said they didn’t know of Tusk, but saw it was a Fleetwood Mac cover band and decided to go.

After the show, the two got a poster signed by the band and said it would be on display in their living room.

“It was a ton of fun, and now I’m going to listen to Fleetwood Mac for the next week,” Boyd said.

Mary Annen and Stacy Shess, Peoria, Ill. residents, have traveled around Illinois to see Tusk perform.

Although this was their third time seeing the band, James and Butler said the energy is near-original to Fleetwood Mac. 

James said during each show there is something slightly different from the last. 

Unlike previous shows, vocalist and pianist Kim Williams, educated audience members on the original band’s history and solos, highlighting the individuality each artist offers the band. 

Shess said he enjoyed the creative lighting and hopes the group comes back to Charleston.

Like other audience members, Boyd said she enjoyed the drummer’s solo.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Boyd said. “It was so much fun.”

Rob Le Cates can be reached at 581-2812 or at rllecates@eiu.edu.