Stevie Nicks Explains Why She Still Did Shows After 9/11

22 years after the 9/11 incident, Stevie Nicks shared a poem and an open letter to fans explaining her decision to continue her performances after the attack.

On her official Instagram page, the Fleetwood Mac singer wrote a poem about her memories of the tragedy and stated:

“If 9/11 taught us anything — it was to be brave — to get involved — and to always run towards people who are in terrible danger and have lost so much. If we stop helping, stop ‘rising to the cries’ of those who need us — then — who are we? Just a sad, petty country who can no longer agree about anything.”

During the 9/11 attacks, Nicks was in New York for a tour of her album Trouble in Shangri-La. Her shows for that stop were canceled, but she continued the trek in Atlantic City on September 15th. In her letter, she went on to explain why she decided to go on with the shows after the attack:

“At this moment, I can only see the F-16s that flew by my side into Washington, D.C., so I could do my show and try to make people smile again, even if only for a moment. I was still terrified — I think it was the only time I felt safe since that unforgettable day in New York. I stayed on the road for five weeks. My parents told me, ‘Don’t you dare come home. Your music is how you can help.”

The singer then paid tribute to those who were greatly affected by the horrors of the event. She concluded:

“Lastly, this day jumped out at me. I am on the road now, but I always — every year, want to honor the brave men and women who responded on that awful day — the ones who survived and the ones who did not. And I want to honor their children who honor them by following in their footsteps — you are always welcome at my shows.”

Two years after the incident, Nicks expressed her feelings about it in the 2003 song Illume (9-11) included on Fleetwood Mac’s album Say You Will.