On Saturday (June 10), Joni Mitchell returned to the stage for her first official, ticketed headline concert in over two decades, following her surprise set at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. Last night’s Joni Jam took place at the sprawling Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington, where Mitchell was joined onstage by numerous guest performers such as Annie Lennox, Blake Mills, Lucius, Sarah McLachlan, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and others, according to reports by The Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone. Fans have posted multiple videos from the concert to social media.
Brandi Carlile opened the show and performed with Mitchell, acting as host and emcee for the evening. Mitchell and the “Joni Jammers,” as Carlile referred to them, performed songs from across the songwriter’s catalog, including “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Night Ride Home,” Raised on Robbery,” “Sex Kills,” “A Case of You,” “Both Sides Now,” and more.
As The Los Angeles Times points out, Mitchell also covered standards like “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess, “Love Potion No. 9,” Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?,” and “Young at Heart,” made famous by Frank Sinatra. In turn, a few Joni Jammers took on lead vocals for some of Mitchell’s most beloved songs. Lennox performed 1970’s “Ladies of the Canyon,” McLachlan sang “Blue,” and Mumford took on “California” with help from Blake Mills and backing vocals via Lucius.
Following her surprise appearance at last year’s Newport Folk Festival, Mitchell sat down with CBS Mornings for a rare interview to discuss the performance. The following month, she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. Berklee president Erica Muhl referred to her “a force for change in the industry, blazing the trail for women in music with an unwavering commitment to achieving the status rightfully due her as one of the world’s great musical artists.”
Upon accepting the accolade, Mitchell said: “I wish my parents were alive. My mother in particular would be really proud of this because she wanted me to go to college. I went to art school and I quit after a year. She thinks of me as a quitter. So to see this achievement would be really impressive to her. I wish I could share it with her.”
Mitchell was subsequently honored with the 2023 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. On July 28, she will release a new live album Joni Mitchell at Newport, which captures her 2022 set at the festival.
