Just like the white winged dove: Stevie Nicks tribute band rocks

By Collin Kelley
Editor

Earlier this month, legendary rock ‘n roll singer Stevie Nicks premiered her documentary, In Your Dreams, for one night only at cinemas around the country. I managed to nab a couple of tickets and met up with my co-worker Liz for dinner and drinks at Apres Diem before the screening at Midtown Art Cinema. While we were sitting on the patio, I did a double-take as a woman walked by dressed in full Stevie Nicks regalia: long dress, boots, shawls and the big, pumped hair the Fleetwood Mac singer wore in the late 80s. I knew it was going to be a fun evening if fans were coming dressed as Stevie.

Once inside the theater, seats were already filling up fast and Liz and I happened to sit down in the same row as the woman dressed as Stevie. She was getting a lot of attention from people sitting around her, and I overheard her say she was the leader of the Stevie Nicks tribute band White Winged Dove. I slid down a couple of seats, told her I worked for INtown and she introduced herself as Barbara Joy. We immediately started talking about our love for Stevie and Fleetwood Mac’s music. I was already writing this story in my mind.

A few days laters, I talked to Barbara Joy by phone about how she transformed herself into Stevie Nicks on a regular basis and how she had honed her voice to imitate her idol to such a fine degree. “I was in a band called Hard Core, and as the names suggests, it was a hard rock outfit. I was singing Led Zeppelin and Sammy  Hagar songs. Once night, I decided to add Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ to the set and the audience went crazy for it.”

After years of listening and singing along to Stevie Nicks records, Barbara discovered that she had the singer’s pronunciations and phrasings down pat. She decided to try a solo gig performing as Stevie at a gay bar in Cincinnati and a career was launched. “Stevie has a big gay following, so I knew if the guys were impressed then I must be doing something right.”

Barbara has portrayed Stevie in a number of her incarnations, but her favorite is the late 80s/early 90s Stevie from the Rock A Little and Other Side of the Mirror era. “I think that time in her solo career was so distinctive, with the big hair and big shawls. It’s instantly recognizable.”

Once she moved to Georgia, Barbara put together the current line-up of White Winged Dove and started booking gigs around metro Atlanta, including Mableton Rocks and the upcoming Wag ‘N Walk Pet Festival in Loganville on May 4. At this writing, the band is also planning to play at Vinyl in Midtown in late May. Follow the band’s Facebook page at facebook.com/JustLikeTheWhiteWingedDove to find out about more upcoming gigs.

Along with fronting White Winged Dove, Barbara Joy also makes her own Stevie inspired costumes. Her designs became so popular among fans, that she opened her own online store, Joy Shoppe, that sells Stevie-inspired jewelry and clothing.

While she’s never met Stevie in person, she got to know the singer’s late mother and brother and they sent along a few personal, autographed items that Barbara treasures. “I always wanted to be a singer, but being able to portray and sing Stevie Nicks songs is a dream. I’m so lucky that I get to do this. I’m blessed.”