“Two Icons One Night” was the perfect way to describe the Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks concert March 10 at the Sofi Stadium. Growing up, I spent the majority of my family car rides blasting Joel out the windows, and I fell in love with Nicks’ music in middle school. Having the opportunity to attend their concert was a great privilege. 

Beginning their national stadium tour in Los Angeles, the singers split the concert in half, both singing for about two hours. Nicks kicked off the concert with her songs “Outside the Rain,” “If Anyone Falls” and the Fleetwood Mac classic “Dreams.” 

Early in her set, Joel accompanied Nicks on stage to sing the famous duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” as a tribute to former rockstar Tom Petty. It was a fabulous duet with a great electric guitar solo and grungy vocals. 

After twirling around on stage in a sparkly black dress, while singing six more of her most popular songs, Nicks finally sang Petty’s song, “Free Fallin’” as an additional tribute. While she sang, a montage of photos of Petty was played in the background. This was an emotional number, which had the crowd clapping their hands and singing at the top of their lungs. 

Nicks ended her set with Fleetwood Mac’s “Land Slide.” Behind her, Nicks displayed photos of her and Christine McVie, a former bandmate, who recently passed away in November. As she sang, fans held up their phone flashlights and lit up the stadium. It was a meaningful tribute that left Nicks bowing down over her glittering microphone stand in tears.

“There’s really not much to say,” Nicks told the crowd. “We just pretend that she’s just still here — that’s how I’m trying to deal with it.”

She concluded her set and then joined her band in a final bow before they ran off stage. Anticipation buzzed through the crowd as we waited for Joel to pop back up. 

Fans went wild when red lights lit up the stadium as Joel came on stage. He began his set with two classics: “My Life” and “Moving Out (Anthony’s Song).” Joel’s impressive piano playing mixed with his nostalgic voice made for a wonderful performance.

He spent the majority of his set sitting at a piano. I appreciated the simplicity of this, as it reflected the style of his music.

When Joel struck the first note of “Vienna,” a roar of excitement bellowed from the stadium. He then sang five more songs before Nick’s joined him on stage for “And So It Goes.”

Nicks’ and Joel’s first duet was impressive but only because they sang separate parts of the song. The two singers tried to harmonize throughout the singing of “So It Goes,” but their voices simply did not blend well.

Nicks has a unique voice with a very low tone and constant vibrato, whereas Joel has more of a hard rock-style pitch so when singing together, the song sounded choppy, rather than in unison. 

Joel made a noteworthy comeback with “Only the Good Die Young,” where a bandmate performed an impressive trumpet solo. Fans were dancing, singing, screaming and clapping their hands alongside the high-energy Joel and his band.

The two songs that truly took the cake were “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” and “Piano Man.” Phone flashlights relit the stadium and echoes of singing bounced off walls. Fans were singing “Piano Man” so loud that Joel stopped singing in the middle of the last chorus and let us finish the song.

Joel finished his set with the banger, “You May Be Right.” I could not have thought of a better song to end on, and the crowd seemed to agree. 

It is impossible to compare Nicks to Joel. Nicks twirled around on stage, serenading her audience and delivering heartfelt numbers. Joel cracked many jokes and snapped his fingers along to “An Innocent Man.” Joel was an outstanding performer with a strong stage presence and Nicks wowed the audience with her sparkly tambourine and low, smokey voice. 

Nicks and Joel united fans of all ages. On my right was an older woman, and to my left was a young boy, who had to be about 5 years old. Nicks and Joel proved that no matter someone’s age or generation, the singers can ultimately still impress.