On Saturday (June 10), Joni Mitchell returned to the stage for her first official, ticketed headline concert in over 20 years, following her surprise set on the 2022 Newport People Pageant. Final night time’s practically three-hour Joni Jam befell on the sprawling Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington, the place Mitchell was joined onstage by quite a few visitor performers akin to Annie Lennox, Blake Mills, Lucius, Sarah McLachlan, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and others. Followers have posted multiple videos from the concert to social media.
Brandi Carlile opened the present and carried out with Mitchell, appearing as host and emcee for the night. In response to studies by The Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone, Mitchell and the “Joni Jammers,” as Carlile referred to them, carried out songs from throughout the songwriter’s catalog, together with “Massive Yellow Taxi,” “Night time Experience House,” Raised on Theft,” “Intercourse Kills,” “A Case of You,” “Each Sides Now,” and extra.
As The Los Angeles Occasions factors out, Mitchell additionally lined requirements like “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess, “Love Potion No. 9,” Frankie Lymon & the Youngsters’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?,” and “Younger at Coronary heart,” made well-known by Frank Sinatra. In flip, just a few Joni Jammers took on lead vocals for a few of Mitchell’s most beloved songs. Lennox carried out 1970’s “Women of the Canyon,” McLachlan sang “Blue,” and Mumford took on “California” with assist from Blake Mills and backing vocals through Lucius.
Following her shock look eventually yr’s Newport People Pageant, Mitchell sat down with CBS Mornings for a uncommon interview to discuss the performance. The next month, she was awarded an honorary doctorate diploma from Berklee School of Music. Berklee president Erica Muhl referred to her “a pressure for change within the trade, blazing the path for ladies in music with an unwavering dedication to reaching the standing rightfully due her as one of many world’s nice musical artists.”
Upon accepting the accolade, Mitchell stated: “I want my mother and father have been alive. My mom specifically can be actually happy with this as a result of she needed me to go to varsity. I went to artwork faculty and I stop after a yr. She thinks of me as a quitter. So to see this achievement can be actually spectacular to her. I want I may share it together with her.”
Mitchell was subsequently honored with the 2023 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. On July 28, she is going to launch a brand new dwell album Joni Mitchell at Newport, which captures her 2022 set on the competition.
