On a mild September Friday that finally felt like a gift after weeks of Midwest heat, Chesterfield Amphitheater filled to the grass. Blankets, lawn chairs, and reserved seats disappeared early. By the time the lights hit the stage, the place was packed with Fleetwood Mac fans who had come ready to sing every word.
Public Display of Affection opened the night the way a good support act should: warmly, tightly, and without wasting a second. The husband-and-wife duo of Charlie Barrale and Julia Barrale — guitar, violin, and two voices that lock together like they’ve been doing this a lifetime — set an intimate, affectionate tone. Their set felt like a public display of affection in the best sense: honest, melodic, and perfectly scaled to the outdoor room. The crowd was already leaning in before Big Love ever took the stage.
Then the St. Louis-based tribute band that has been doing this since 2014 delivered exactly what the billing promised: the ultimate Fleetwood Mac experience. Suzy Burgess Eisenbeis and Leah Luciano traded and stacked the Stevie and Christine parts with real weight, while Dave AlanS handled the Buckingham-side vocals and guitar with snap and bite. Steve Johnston’s guitar work cut clean through the outdoor mix, Greg Hulub kept the low end warm and locked, and Eric Knost drove the whole thing from the kit with the kind of groove that makes “The Chain” feel inevitable. From Peter Green’s blues roots through the Buckingham-Nicks-McVie era that defined a generation, they hit the songs that matter. “Dreams.” “Rhiannon.” “Landslide.” “The Chain.” “Go Your Own Way.” “Don’t Stop.” “Everywhere.” “Gypsy.” “Say You Love Me.” The list kept coming, and the amphitheater answered every one.
What separated the night from a standard tribute was the crowd. This wasn’t polite applause between songs. This was a packed house singing along — loud, on-key, and completely unselfconscious. Harmonies rose from the lawn. People stood for the choruses. Couples danced in the aisles. When Eisenbeis and Luciano leaned into the big vocal moments and AlanS and Johnston pushed the guitar lines forward, the entire venue became part of the arrangement. The natural reverb of the amphitheater only made it better.
The musicianship was sharp. Vocals stayed true to the records without turning into karaoke. Guitar lines cut clean. Hulub and Knost locked in the way Fleetwood Mac’s rhythm section always did — steady, soulful, and built for the long haul. The six of them looked like they were having as much fun as the audience, which is the difference between a good cover night and a great one.
By the time the last notes faded, no one was in a hurry to leave. That’s the sign of a night that worked. Big Love didn’t just play the hits. They handed them back to a sold-out Chesterfield crowd that already knew every word and still wanted to hear them live, under the stars, with a thousand other people singing along.
If you missed it, you missed one of the best local nights of the year. If you were there, you already know: they don’t stop. And neither did the crowd.
