1000 Stevies, 'Gypsy 83' & The Sisters of the Moon Who Led Me Here

Gold Dust Woman part deux. 🌕

So I’m back to the Velvet Underground. Me and hundreds of swaying-twirling Stevies wearing next-level headwear. We’re talking flower crowns, top hats, crimped blonde wigs, Viking caps and—aaaah!—antlers. The incomparable Gaby Moss had promised there’d be antlers, and clearly, the universe is delivering. Our voices rise with Dorothy Bishop’s crystal-clear soprano, singing the song that doubles as my life philosophy and 7:00 am phone alarm.

Welcome to Night of 1000 Stevies, New York’s annual Stevie Nicks-themed ball! NOTS was born at the late LES club Mother in 1991 (same year as me!) and founded by Chi Chi Valenti and Johnny Dynell. This year’s theme is 💐🌟North Star🌟💐, a celebration of midsommar and the Norse goddess Freyja. Naturally, the vibes are immaculate, and we are all one…at least until the tambourine toss. Then you have a melange of witchy waifs and drag queens FIGHTING TO THE DEATH for a 99 cent toy instrument. When I succeed in snatching a tambourine off the floor, I feel like I’ve been crowned May Queen.

Earlier that night, Gaby asked me what led me to this particular Night of 1000 Stevies. Part of it is—duh—the vague promise that the real Stevie Nicks might appear at NOTS incognito some day. On the subway ride over, I talk about how she loves this event, and may very well be watching in the crowd “like Santa Claus.”

Part of it is Gaby herself; the older sister I never had, the funniest writer I know, and the person who advocates for my witchy little dreams. She always lights my path through the darkness (her chartreuse hair radiates in this venue, which helps).

But if you need a narrative-ish, what led me here is the Cult of Nicks. Stevie has always been masterful at creating a coven, and her strongly curated aesthetic helps. To this day she gifts silver crescent moon necklaces to her famous BFFs, a sartorial induction ceremony. But the everyday shawl-wearing devotees who would follow her everywhere, *they* are my Sisters of the Moon. And it starts with one woman in particular…