Joni Mitchell hasn’t played a full concert for a live audience — an audience that knew she was coming, that is — for more than 20 years.
That’s set to change Saturday night, when the 79-year-old singer and songwriter headlines the Gorge Amphitheatre on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington state. The show follows an unannounced appearance Mitchell made at 2022’s Newport Folk Festival, seven years after she suffered a debilitating brain aneurysm that made it difficult for her to move and to use her voice.
Modeled by organizer Brandi Carlile after the so-called Joni Jams the singer has held in recent years at her Bel-Air home, the instant-classic Newport gig had Mitchell and Carlile seated in glittering armchairs surrounded by friends and admirers as Mitchell sang and played guitar in some of the indelible tunes that made her a giant of American songwriting in the 1970s, including “Help Me,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Both Sides Now,” “The Circle Game” and “A Case of You.” (A live album is scheduled for release next month.)
Saturday’s show — part of Carlile’s annual Echoes Through the Canyon event at the Gorge — is expected to be a similar affair: Among the artists on the bill for the three-day festival are many who appeared at Newport, including Marcus Mumford, Allison Russell, Lucius, Blake Mills and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes. Yet Carlile has also promised surprises: Performing a set of her own Friday night, the folk-rock star brought out Sarah McLachlan and Annie Lennox for unexpected duets.
The Times’ Mikael Wood and Amy Kaufman are at the Gorge and will provide live updates from the concert as it happens.
6:13 p.m. Greetings from the Gorge, where Joni fever is running hot enough that a woman playing “California” on a dulcimer in the parking lot had drawn a considerable crowd of enthusiastic onlookers.
I’m Mikael Wood, The Times’ pop music critic, and I’m here with Times columnist Amy Kaufman to see the woman Brandi Carlile described onstage last night as “probably the greatest living legend on planet Earth.”
High praise? No doubt. Yet there’s been something undeniably moving over the last few years in Carlile’s Joni fandom, which has played out against a larger swell of appreciation for Mitchell’s groundbreaking work by the likes of Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers.
I’m curious to see which of Mitchell’s many famous fans might show up announced tonight, though the real attraction, of course, is Joni herself — an artist I and many others assumed we’d never see perform again. — Mikael Wood
6:32 p.m. I’ve always heard that you need to see a show at the Gorge before you die, and upon driving into this remote Washington venue, it’s immediately obvious why. Think the Hollywood Bowl, except you’re overlooking a massive, majestic expanse — the Columbia River winding between the foothills of the Cascade mountains.
Getting to the Gorge is an experience all its own. If you’re coming from Seattle, it’s at least a 2.5 hour drive. There’s camping on the grounds, but most concertgoers stay an hour away in a town called Wenatchee.
As you inch closer to the venue, traffic slows and cow pastures become more frequent. Tonight’s Joni Jam is sold out, which means over 27,000 people are going to be lounging on the lawns above the stage.
The crowd is boomer heavy, and eclectic outfits abound. I saw one woman wearing a hippie ensemble that they definitely sell at Halloween stores.
I’ve got my eyes peeled for any special guests who made the trek out here. Word is that the show tonight will be reminiscent of Mitchell’s surprise appearance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. Brandi Carlisle will start off with an acoustic set at 7 p.m., and Joni and friends are set to come out at 9. Given Carlile’s set last night, there could be appearances by Annie Lennox, Sarah McLachlan and Marcus Mumford. — Amy Kaufman
7:45 p.m. “I’m Brandi Carlile, from here in Washington state,” tonight’s opener-slash-facilitator says to begin her set, before telling the crowd that she “came for the same reason as you tonight,” which is to witness a performance by “the greatest living songwriter.” Her job, as she sees it: to “kill a little bit of time while everyone’s getting their makeup done.” — M.W.
