Canadian music icon Joni Mitchell surprised fans with her first full show in over 20 years when she took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival over the weekend.
Mitchell, 78, appeared alongside folk singer Brandi Carlile on Sunday night at the Rhode Island festival, performing some of her best hits and even providing the crowd with a guitar solo.
Mitchell and Carlile looked like the rock royalty that they are as they perched in two white chairs adorned with gold trim, singing a 13-song tribute set performed in Mitchell’s honor.
Brandi Carlile presents Joni Mitchell for a special Joni Jam at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park on July 24, 2022.
Carlin Stiehl for the Boston Globe via Getty Images
Mitchell has largely retired from music since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015. But Carlile said CBS this morning she was on a mission to convince the folk music legend to return to the stage.
“I just imagined it up there, the water, the fort and the boats…” Carlile explained.
Despite being a prolific musician, Mitchell revealed she was hesitant to step back on stage – she hasn’t performed live since 2013.
She told CBS that while she was “never nervous” about a performance, she “wanted it to be good.” …I wasn’t sure that would be the case. She said she was happy with the way things went and said “it didn’t sound so bad.”
Mitchell and Carlile were joined on stage by several longtime musical friends and collaborators including Wynonna Judd, Blake Mills, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith and Lucius. Together they performed some of Mitchell’s biggest hits, like Both sides now, A case of you and Summer time.
She also played guitar for Like this train — a skill she had to relearn after her aneurysm.
To say Mitchell’s fans were thrilled with the surprise performance would be an understatement. Those who watched in person and those who woke up to online videos of the set Monday morning expressed the joy and emotion they felt watching the folk legend return to the stage.
Earlier this year, Mitchell made an appearance at the Grammy Awards, receiving the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year as well as the Best Historical Album trophy for his retrospective album, Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol 1: The Early Years (1963-1967).
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