Joni Mitchell gave her most memorable full live performance since 2002 at this end of the week’s Newport Folk celebration. Mitchell, 78, joined country musician and friend Brandi Carlile at the celebration to perform Mitchell works of art including A Case of You, Both Sides Now and Big Yellow Taxi. During the 13-melody set, Mitchell additionally played out the guitar solo from Just Like This Train.
Joining her and Carlile – who takes care of Mitchell’s 1971 album Blue in full – were Marcus Mumford, Wynonna Judd, Blake Mills, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of the band Lucius, and Mitchell’s bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth and Celisse Henderson: a live version of the private “Joni Jam” evenings that Mitchell has held at her Los Angeles home lately with any semblance of Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and Herbie Hancock.
“I recently started to understand, Joni’s the most un-apprehensive person up here,” Carlile told the crowd.
As well as versions of Mitchell tunes including Carey, Amelia and Circle Game, the gathering likewise covered Gershwin’s Summertime, Frankie Lymon’s Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Leiber and Stoller’s Love Potion No 9. Watch recordings of the performance at Pitchfork and read the setlist below.
Mitchell’s last full live show was at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on 13 November 2002. She last showed up at the Newport people celebration in 1969 on similar bill as Arlo Guthrie and the Everly Brothers.
Since having a cerebrum aneurysm in 2015, Mitchell has made a consistent re-visitation of public life. She was available at a recognition show in festival of her 75th birthday celebration in 2018 and showed up in front of an audience as different performers performed Big Yellow Taxi to victory the candles on her birthday cake.
To check the 50th anniversary of Blue in June 2021, Mitchell shared a video saying thanks to fans for “getting” a collection that initially “fell beneficiary of a great deal of analysis” – specifically that her sincere verses were undignified oversharing. She showed up at the Kennedy Center Honors celebration in December 2021 – telling correspondents, “I’m stumbling along yet I’m doing good” – where she was among the beneficiaries. In April, Mitchell was named MusiCares individual of the year and offered a brief performance at the service to respect her.
Mitchell is likewise dealing with a series of archival releases to share demos, beforehand unheard material and covers. The first, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol 1: The Early Years (1963-1967), was released in October 2020 and highlighted an uncommon new meeting by Cameron Crowe in the liner notes.
In January, she removed her catalogue from Spotify in fortitude with Neil Young, who guided his administration and mark to eliminate his music from the streaming stage given its help of Joe Rogan, whose podcasts has been condemned by specialists for spreading deception about Covid-19 and vaccination.
“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell said. “I stand in fortitude with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”