originally published: 03/22/2025
(NEWTON, NJ) -- Tusk, the Classic Fleetwood Mac Tribute, comes to The Newton Theatre for performances on Friday, May 30th and Saturday, May 31, 2025. Showtime is 8:00pm each night.
Tusk includes Kathy Phillips (vocals), Scott McDonald (guitar, vocals), Kim Williams (keys, vocals), Randy Artiglere (bass), and Tom Nelson (drums).
The relationship among the five founding members of Tusk has a rich history that goes back more than four decades. Two met while playing Little League baseball. Two others met in middle school band and marched in lockstep through high school. All five have been playing music with one another over the years in various configurations of original bands, jam bands, singer-songwriter circles, and alternative rock groups.
Time, trust, and close friendship have cultivated an intimate familiarity with each other’s musical nuances, shaping each performance with such precision that even the slightest variation, virtually imperceptible to all but the five musicians sharing the stage, is met with a wink and a nod, and usually an inside joke. Tusk is more than a band; they are a family.
Tickets range from $34-$39 and are available for purchase online. The Newton Theatre is located at 234 Spring Street in Newton, New Jersey.
Tusk has been crisscrossing the country since 2008 as The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute. But of all the Fleetwood Mac tributes playing around the United States today, what exactly sets Tusk apart? Is it more than five skilled professionals turned masters of their trade through decades of individual musical study, live performance, creative risk and devotion to the art? Is it more than their affection and respect for the Fleetwood Mac experience, an entity that continues to endure over 50 years of musical and cultural evolution? Is it more than vocal similarities, common physical traits or good costumes? To be sure, one does not fare well in the tribute scene without displaying some or all of these characteristics. So what qualities does Tusk possess that can’t be learned, bought or created simply from a desire to have them? Chemistry. Synergy. Intuition.
The Newton Theatre was founded in 1924. It is a beautifully restored 605 seat performing arts center in the heart of Sussex County, presenting diverse programming, including world-renowned music acts, comedians, family productions, holiday shows and much more.
COLUMNS
Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...4/3/25
"So, Danny; how are you anyway? I'm doing the Beatle Fest in New Jersey before we do Sellersville; it's just me," laughed the always pleasant, always jovial and always upfront original Yardbird Jim McCarty. "What's happening now is, we're doing a different sort of show. Somebody had suggested to me a few years ago; why don't you do The Yardbirds history? So, we're doing a different show where I talk through the history of the group and we play the songs as they come up and we have a back projection illustrating what I'm talking about. We've never done this before, Sellersville will be the first one (Laughs)."
