The Fleetwood Mac song “Gold Rush Woman” could be on the setlist Sept. 9, when a tribute group for the iconic band headlines a free concert kicking off Villa Rica’s Gold Rush Festival.
Rumours ATL, an Atlanta group that recreates the sound of one of the most creative and influential pop-rock bands of the 20th century, will take the stage at The MILL amphitheater the night before the festival.
The opening act for the city’s last summer concert of 2022 will be another Atlanta band, Sailing to Denver. According to their website, the group plays original songs, along with “B side covers that everyone forgot they loved.”
Sailing to Denver will start the show on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the MILL Amphitheater, 106 Temple St. Rumours will then take the Thomas A. Dorsey stage. The concert is free, but concertgoers can reserve spots close to the stage through the freshtix.com website. And even though thunder only happens when it’s raining, the show will go on despite the weather.
On Sept. 10, the Gold Rush Festival starts first thing in the morning downtown.
Established 44 years ago, the Festival is Villa Rica’s premiere street celebration, featuring a parade, a road race, dozens of vendors – and lots of music. It honors the area’s history as the scene of the nation’s first “gold rush,” when miners and settlers rushed into the area after gold was discovered a few years before the better-known gold rush in Dahlonega, Georgia.
Formed in London in 1967, Fleetwood Mac was a blues band through the 70s, until the folk-band duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined in 1974 and revolutionized their sound. The Mac’s 1975 self-titled album reached No. 1, and Rumours (1977) generated four Top 10 singles and has sold over 40 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums in history.
But the addition of Buckingham-Nicks also generated one of the more tempestuous soap operas in Rock history, as the couple quarreled through their music. Yet despite the group’s storm of personal issues, they found a font of creative energy that produced some of the greatest songs of the 70s and 80s.
The bandmates of Rumours ATL consider themselves an authentic recreation of Fleetwood Mac as they were during the height of their fame. Over the past 10 years, Rumours has earned the reputation of being The Mac’s best tribute bands, drawing fans from around the world.
According to the group’s website, the band was invited to The Netherlands in 2019 for a summer concert series in some of the country’s top venues and festivals.
The Gold Rush Festival events kick off at 8 a.m. on Sept. 10 with the Gold Rush 5k through the streets of downtown. At 10 a.m., the annual
Gold Rush Festival Parade will wind its way through the heart of the business district. Also starting at 10 and running through 4 p.m., dozens of crafts and other vendors will set up booths near the MILL. And there will be music and other entertainment from the stage from noon until 4 p.m.
Sponsors of this year’s Gold Rush Festival include Southwire, Jones-Wynn Funeral Homes and Crematory, Dyma Brands, Tisinger Vance, Don Hudgins Properties, Main Street Villa Rica and the City of Villa Rica.
