BY BRITTANY DANIELLE for WEEKLY VOLCANO 5/29/26 |
Fleetwood Mac tribute bands are definitely a thing, but Wild Rumours stands out because it refuses to approach the music like a reenactment. The Seattle-based group focuses on the Buckingham/Nicks era of Fleetwood Mac, pulling heavily from Rumours, Tusk, and Mirage. The band, which consists of remarkable musicians in their own right, leaves room for live interpretations in the moment.
“We honor the songs and arrangements people know by heart, but we also let the music breathe and see where it wants to take us on any given night,” guitarist Kathy Moore says.
Wild Rumours performs May 29 at Jazzbones in Tacoma, bringing together a lineup Moore describes as “some of Seattle’s most skilled and soulful musicians,” including vocalist and keyboardist Jen Ayers, who you might remember as lead vocalist of Honey Tongue, bassist Patrick Porter, drummer Geoff Reading, and vocalist Annastasia Workman. At the center of the band’s sound is Moore, a longtime Seattle guitarist whose career stretches across decades of collaborations with Northwest musicians, including Shawn Smith, Brad, Satchel, Krist Novoselic, Mike McCready, Duff McKagan, Star Anna, Ayron Jones, Thunderpussy, and many others. Her path into guitar started later than most.
“I could play a few guitar chords when I was around 16, but I didn’t really start playing seriously until I was 21,” Moore says. “I was studying piano and music education at SPU when I decided to stay in Seattle for the summer. Without a piano to practice on, I saved up my waitressing tips, mostly quarters, and brought them to American Music.”
Moore says the store made her roll the coins before she could buy her first guitar, a Fender Squier that quickly took over her life.
“From the moment I started playing it, I was obsessed,” she says. “I practiced for hours every day.”
Early influences included Nancy Wilson, Wendy Melvoin, and Jennifer Batten. Later, discovering jazz guitarist Emily Remler changed her direction completely.
“Someone at the guitar store introduced me to Emily Remler, which sent me deep into jazz study for the next five years,” Moore says. “Somewhere along the line, I realized I’m really an experimental rock guitar player at heart, and that’s where I can express myself most honestly.”
That mix of rock and jazz sensibility shapes Wild Rumours. The band does not strip away the familiarity of Fleetwood Mac’s catalog, but it does not treat the songs like museum pieces either.
“These are rock standards,” Moore says. “People carry these songs with them for their whole lives.”
Seattle musician Shaun Crawford says Moore’s presence onstage is difficult to ignore.
“Kathy has a daring nature onstage when performing, exciting but controlled in a way most could only dream of being,” Crawford says. “Offstage? One of the biggest sweethearts and biggest supporters of women in the arts.”
Crawford also points to Moore’s work as an educator.
“I love watching her work with the kids in the choirs she’ll post about online,” he says. “She brings similar enthusiasm for her performances and the performances of her students. Another rarity among artists.”
But Wild Rumours works because it is more than a guitar showcase. Vocalist and keyboardist Jen Ayers plays a major role in shaping the identity of the band, both musically and emotionally.
Ayers first became known in Seattle through her powerhouse vocals in the indie rock band Honey Tongue before moving into more theatrical and songwriter-driven projects like Teatro ZinZanni; SHe Said, her solo concept album and theatrical production; House of Thee UnHoly, a Led Zeppelin-inspired burlesque/theatrical production; and Dream On, an almost all-female Aerosmith tribute band. That background carries directly into Wild Rumours. Where Moore often drives the band’s improvisational side, Ayers shapes the pacing and emotional structure of the performances, helping the songs move naturally between restraint and release.
Her vocal approach also helps separate Wild Rumours from many tribute acts focused purely on imitation. Rather than trying to recreate Stevie Nicks exactly, Ayers approaches the material through interpretation, allowing the songs to feel lived-in rather than staged. Together, Ayers and Moore create the balance that defines the band live, one pushing the arrangements outward while the other keeps the emotional center intact.
Watching Moore play feels like a reminder of why people fall in love with music in the first place. In an industry that can easily become consumed by marketing, algorithms, and constant promotion, her performances cut through all of that. Every time I watch her play, I believe in music again. There is no sense of calculation in it. She radiates genuine passion for the craft, and that energy reaches the room immediately.
For Moore, that connection between band and audience is what has kept Wild Rumours going for the last decade.
“These musicians are effortless to play with and full of kindness,” she says. “Between the band and the audience, there’s a deep connection built from history and nostalgia and these great hits of the ’70s and ’80s. We genuinely love doing this.”
Wild Rumours performs Friday, May 29, at Jazzbones in Tacoma. Doors open at 8 p.m. The show starts at 9 p.m. Find Jazzbones on social media @jazzbonestacoma and keep an eye out for what comes up next!
