Billy Burnette (foreground, from left), formerly of Fleetwood Mac, joins tribute act Gold Dust Dreams, which includes lead vocalists Julia Lawrence and Dave Calzaretta, on Sept. 1 at CD&ME in Frankfort. Burnette performed for the first time with the tribute band in 2021 at the same venue. (Harlan Horn)

Some musicians who are fans of a band form tributes but those acts often do not include involvement from performers of the groups being covered.

That was not the case in August 2021 when guitarist and singer Billy Burnette, formerly of Fleetwood Mac, joined Gold Dust Dreams, which is billed as performing favorite Mac and Stevie Nicks solo material, at CD&ME in Frankfort as a featured guest.

“They’re a great band and a great bunch of people. We had a lot of fun last time,” said Burnette, who was with Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1995 and contributed to 1988′s “Greatest Hits,” 1990′s “Behind the Mask,” 1992′s “25 Years — The Chain” and 1995′s “Time” albums.

Burnette returns to that venue on Sept. 1 as a featured performer with Gold Dust Dreams, which consists of Julia Lawrence (lead vocals), Kara Kesselring (vocals and keys), Dave Calzaretta (lead vocals and founder), Chris Siebold (vocals and lead guitar), Mikayla Schawel (bass), and Ron Barnes (drums).

“We’ll be doing some Fleetwood Mac stuff. A lot of the set is from back in 1987 when I joined the band,” said Burnette of Nashville, Tennessee.

Burnette had been in Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo and appeared on that band’s 1983 album “I’m Not Me,” which featured Fleetwood Mac members Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie and had Burnette as lead vocalist on “Angel Come Home,” the title track and “Tear It Up.”

He also cowrote “So Excited,” which appeared on McVie’s self-titled second solo album in 1984, and Fleetwood and McVie appeared on Burnette’s 1985 album “Try Me” before he and guitarist Rick Vito were asked to join Fleetwood Mac after Buckingham left.

“He was the heart of that band as far as producing the records and the sound of that time,” said Burnette about Buckingham.

“I did feel the pressure. In fact we felt a lot of pressure. Our first night with them was 1987 in St. Louis. It went great. I was relieved after that first night.

“When Rick and I joined the band we were actually able to play each part. We were actually able to bring back the hits and all the parts that were on the records so we stuck to that. People only wanted to hear the hits from that era.”

Burnette said there are many memorable moments from being on the road with Fleetwood Mac especially a London concert during 1990′s Behind the Mask tour.

“One of the favorite gigs was probably Wembley Stadium because I had at the time my wife and kids come over and my mom got to meet the prince. It was pretty incredible,” he said.

Burnette was born into music with his late father, Dorsey Burnette, and late uncle Johnny Burnette being members of The Rock and Roll Trio.

Burnette’s career began when he was 7 years old. His first single was the 1960 Christmas song “Hey Daddy (I’m Gonna Tell Santa on You)” with the late Ricky Nelson’s band for Dot Records.

“I was so young I don’t even remember doing that record,” he said.

“I did a Dr. Seuss song when I was 11 with Herb Alpert. I toured with Brenda Lee when I was 13. I was just one of them kids that wanted to get out there and sing.”

Burnette’s career has ranged from releasing solo albums to writing songs for artists including cowriting “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?” performed by the late Ray Charles with Bonnie Raitt on Charles’ 2004 “Genius Loves Company,” which received several Grammy Awards including album of the year.

A song Burnette cowrote called “Givin’ It Back” is featured as a remix on McVie’s “Songbird” (A Solo Collection),” which was released in June, and he said he still enjoys performing several Fleetwood Mac songs live.

“I love the energy of ‘Go Your Own Way’ and, of course, when we used to do the hits — ‘Rhiannon’ and stuff like that — the house would come down because Stevie’s such a big artists these days,” he said about Nicks, who is a lead and backing vocalist for Fleetwood Mac as well as a solo artist.

“The energy of the audience is still incredible for those songs and that era of music. It puts me right back into that era.”

Chicago-based Gold Dust Dreams performed without Burnette in July at the Lake County Fair in Grayslake and in June at the Wheaton Park District’s Summer Entertainment Series in Wheaton.

According to Burnette, it was only natural to reunite with Gold Dust Dreams for another Southland performance at CD&ME.

“We just had a great time and the crowd loved it. That’s all that really matters when you do these gigs,” said Burnette, who plans to release the single “When the World Comes Around” featuring Fleetwood on drums in the next few months.

“We had some great energy and the crowd really loved it and I loved it. The venue we’re playing is actually a really nice place.”

Upcoming gigs for Gold Dust Dreams without Burnette include Konow’s Corn Maze, 16849 S. Cedar Road, Homer Glen, from 3 to 6 p.m. Sept. 18. Call 708-301-8845 or go to konowscornmaze.com.

Gold Dust Dreams featuring Billy Burnette

When: 8-11 p.m. Sept. 1

Where: CD&ME, 23320 S. LaGrange Road, Frankfort

Tickets: $20-$32.50 (ages 21 and older)

Information: 815-469-7315; cdandme.co

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.