STEVIE Nicks, the blond whirling dervish of Fleetwood Mac, has a lot of fans. And aside from being rabid about their Stevie, those fans have little in common with each other.
But that won’t stop them – preppy jocks, drag queens, suburban hausfraus and gay men clad in leather – from gathering at the HighLine Ballroom tomorrow night to pay homage to the rock icon at the 18th annual “Night of a Thousand Stevies.”
Twenty-six Nicks-emulating artists will take the stage and after all the performers are through, the night will culminate in a twirling “Battle of the Stevies.”
The kooky concept started in 1990, as a Tuesday night party at Jackie 60, says NOTS founder and club promoter Chi Chi Valenti, where drag queens would dress like their rock goddess.
Over the years, it gained mainstream appeal. “It’s crossed into all of these different cultures; mixed racially, ethnically and sexually,” says Valenti.
The HighLine will be spruced up for the Stevie-fest with scores of fake birds in a night sky with a low-slung moon. Cloaked fans in big blond wigs and even bigger boots should be commonplace.
Comedic duo Cathy Cervenka and Jill Pangallo, better known as “The HoHos,” joined the NOTS lineup in 2000, after they were discovered at a Fleetwood Mac tribute show.
“I am the one who can sing and tries to impersonate Stevie in a more serious fashion,” Cervenka explains. “And Jill portrays the crazed, coked-out Stevie of the ’80s. “
The pair strive to represent all phases of Nicks’ career, from her stellar moments to her cellar moments.
“If you just make fun of her, that won’t play at NOTS, your devotion has to shine through,” says Cervenka.
One of the many tambourine-toting Stevie devotees debuting at the event is making a 1,630-mile trek from Houston to get her chance in the spotlight.
Brooke Walton, 28, a k a the Poetess Brooke Alyson, grew up listening to Nicks’ music and is thrilled she secured a coveted place in the lineup.
“It’s so important to me, it’s very hard for me to put into words, it brings me to tears,” says Walton.
With leather and lace, flowing chiffon gowns and glittery shawls, Night of a Thousand Stevies allows her fans one enchanted evening a year when everyone can be a dreamer, a silly dreamer.
Night of a Thousand Stevies is tomorrow night at 9 at the HighLine Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St.; (212) 414-5994. For more info, log onto mothernyc.com/stevie.