We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mekenzie Zimmerman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mekenzie, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

It’s hard to call tributing a band “creative work” but it has given me the freedom to record my own original music. Being in this band the past 8 years, I’ve learned so much about sound and dynamics and I’ve also been introduced to other musicians’ music. I play with 5 other people and we are all very different and our music taste spans several genres, so it’s really awesome to always be hearing and learning something new.

But, we are also pretty creative in Rumours ATL. It’s extremely fun to put setlists together and sometimes we show video behind us and I always spend the hours (and hours) to make those videos. It’s tedious, but finding little photos and behind the scenes videos of our band and Fleetwood Mac to add to the videos is my favorite part. It’s so amazing to see the similarities between our tribute band and their original band.

I am extremely grateful for the schedule my band has because it allows me to work on my solo project Mowry, but the most important thing is the support I get from the rest of my band and the support we all give each other.

Mekenzie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, I’m Mekenzie…but a lot of folks tell “fake Stevie!” at me. I joke…but it’s the truth! I’m the Stevie Nicks in Atlanta’s Rumours Fleetwood Mac Tribute. We play shows all over the US and Europe and it’s been the best job I’ve ever had. It all just started with an idea to play Fleetwood Mac songs and dress up for fun but people really enjoyed the shows and wanted to see more, so we booked more!

I have loved Fleetwood Mac since I was a very little girl. When I was 10, that’s when they blew my mind wide open. The Dance live album had come out and I listened to it and watched it every single day! It literally changed my life. So, it was only fitting to step into the role I’ve always wanted to play when I started this band in 2014. I’m just so glad there’s other weirdos out there like me who wanted to play these songs and dance and sing like fools at times.

I am also a mom of an amazing 2 year old. She’s hilarious and loves music! Steely Dan is actually her favorite band and she personally requests Josie or Peg every single time we get into the car. She’s what I am most proud of, but knowing that she’s proud of me is the best feeling in the world.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think anyone who knows me can attest to my resilience, but for those of you who don’t… The music industry isn’t a friendly place, especially to women. And sometimes there can be people in your closest circle taking advantage of your time and talents. I won’t get too deep into it, but I learned that sometimes you can’t trust the person or people you’re the most honest with. I had to prove myself to everyone around me much stronger and harder than before, but luckily people see the true you when you’re being your true self. I am so grateful for the people who are in my band now and the support they’ve shown me from day one and through all the fire.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We have to be smarter about safety of the fans and the artists now more than ever, so if a band has merch you can buy or a gofundme you can donate to…PLEASE DO IT! Touring isn’t making a lot of bands money right now because venues have been so financially impacted by being shuttered for over 8 months during the height of Covid. So, don’t just go to shows. Buy stuff from the band and support them in other ways. Gas is expensive, maintenance on touring vehicles is expensive, hotels are expensive. Help the bands financially by purchasing merch or you won’t be seeing many bands able to tour anymore.

Oh…and don’t talk at shows. Go enjoy the music even if you don’t know it. Don’t disrespect people who have worked very hard to bring entertainment to you…a lot of times for free.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rumoursatltribute.com
• Instagram: @rumoursatl
• Facebook: Facebook.com/RumoursATL
• Youtube: YouTube.com/RumoursATL

Image Credits
Logan White Photography Pippa Lucas Photography Alied Fotographie (Netherlands) Joran Merjenburgh