Lindsey Buckingham is back onstage, having made his first public performance since undergoing heart surgery earlier this year.
The last year has been been a little bit rough for Lindsey Buckingham. After being fired from Fleetwood Mac back in April of 2018, the longtime guitarist was replaced by the likes of Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Crowded House’s Neil Finn.
Since then, Buckingham revealed that Stevie Nicks was behind his firing, while a lawsuit was filed against his former bandmates. Despite all this, Buckingham has remained somewhat optimistic, explaining that he would still happily rejoin the group if he were asked to.
In February though, it was revealed that the musician had undergone emergency heart surgery, with the procedure resulting in some unspecified damage to his vocal cords.
“I am sad to say that late last week Lindsey underwent emergency open heart surgery,” Kristen Buckingham wrote in a statement. “He is now recuperating at home and each day he is stronger than the last.”
“While he and his heart are doing well, the surgery resulted in vocal cord damage. While it is is unclear if this damage is permanent, we are hopeful it is not.”
Check out Lindsey Buckingham performing live:
Over the weekend though, Lindsey Buckingham made his return to the live stage, playing guitar at the high school graduation of his daughter Leelee, who also sang along with him.
“Last night was epic,” Kristen Buckingham wrote on Twitter. “First time I’ve seen Lindsey play in the last 4 mos, all the while Leelee ending her high school career.”
“AND she sings a little ‘Landslide’ with her dad. I cried, I’ll admit it. Never know what’s ahead so enjoy the moment…”
While publications like Variety have noted there might be a theme of forgiveness at work with Buckingham’s performance of Stevie Nicks’ ‘Landslide’, it’s unclear what the future of Buckingham’s relationship with Fleetwood Mac may be.
Likewise, the current state of Buckingham’s vocals remain unclear, with the musician staying silent throughout his performance. While vocal cord damage is a tricky one to predict, we can only hope he’s able to make a full recovery and get back to singing in the future.
In related news, Lindsey Buckingham’s former band Fleetwood Mac is set to return to Australia later this year, kicking off their tour in Perth on August 9th, and sticking around for just under a month as they travel around the country.
Check out Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’:
Fleetwood Mac 2019 Australian Tour
Friday, 9th August
RAC Arena, Perth, WA
Saturday, 17th August
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, NSW
Tuesday, 20th August
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, QLD
Thursday, 22nd August
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, QLD
Tuesday, 27th August
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, NSW
Thursday, 29th August
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, NSW
Monday, 2nd September
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Wednesday, 4th September
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, 7th September
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets available through Live Nation