In a recent episode of Newsmaker, FOX 10 Phoenix’s John Hook sat down with legendary HEART guitarist Nancy Wilson to talk about the band’s current tour, her enduring influence, and what keeps the excitement alive after five decades in rock.
When asked whether she still experiences the thrill and nervous energy before taking the stage, Nancy responded with heartfelt honesty.
(Transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):
“Oh, absolutely, I do. If I did not feel nervous, I always want to check the pulse, or if I don’t feel nervous, I feel like, ‘Oh, no…’ I’m scared to not feel nervous because it’s an important exchange that you have that’s a live experience, 100% live, on a big rock stage that only happens one time. There’s no pre-record going on, so it’s edgy and it’s happening once only that particular night… We’re 100% skin in the game… [And] if you’re not a little bit nervous, you’re phoning it in, and it’s not authentic.”
That authenticity, Nancy suggests, is what has driven HEART from its early days through its massive success — and continues to fuel their performances now.
She went on to explain the band’s roots and their unshakable commitment to musicianship:
“We’re passionate and we’re kind of put on the earth to do what we do. We’re musicians since we were really young kids. Even before we had any kind of sexual identity attached to anything, we were like already good as young kids. So, we just thought, ‘Why not? We’re just gonna barge right in and be proficient and do the 10,000 hours of homework.’ And somehow, 50 years later, it actually pretty obviously worked.”
🎸 Generations United by Music
John Hook remarked how HEART’s catalog continues to resonate across generations — something Nancy says has become one of the most fulfilling parts of touring in 2025.
“Oh, well, you just hit it on the head. Since we started going back out in 2024, and now we’re out until 2026, it’s really a great… The most exciting and rewarding part of it is to see the little kids that are showing up and their parents and college-age kids are coming to the HEART shows. A lot of people just started hearing us in the ’80s; they didn’t even know about the mid-to-late-’70s version of this band.”
She added:
“So it’s a multi-generational experience. And the band HEART being called HEART, it lives up to its namesake because we have a lot of heart with what we do, and we bring the family together for these rock shows. And that, to me, is the most important thing that could happen with something you put into the world — that it translates, it echoes forward into new generations and all of the rest.”
❤️ A Family Affair on the Road
The 2025 leg of the HEART tour has also seen the return of Nancy’s sister and lead singer, Ann Wilson, who has been performing while seated in a wheelchair. Her powerful presence and voice remain undiminished, demonstrating the resilience and unity that define HEART’s legacy.
