Joni Mitchell on Newport Folk Festival surprise set: ‘It didn’t sound too bad’

Joni Mitchell has been performing for nearly six decades, so at this point it’s safe to assume she’s not nervous on stage, even during her first live performance in over 20 years. Which explains why Mitchell’s surprise closing gig at the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday night (July 24), officially titled Brandi Carlile & Friends, wasn’t terribly stressful despite being the music icon’s first gig. in 53 years. . years old.

“No, I’ve never been nervous about being in front of an audience,” Mitchell told CBS Mornings’ Anthony Mason Monday (July 25) of his feelings about the 13-song set, which included a packed stage. of special guests. Pay tribute to the beloved 78-year-old singer, who has struggled with health issues and rarely appeared in public since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015. “But I want it to be good. And he wasn’t sure if he could. But it doesn’t sound so bad tonight!

There was good reason Mitchell felt comfortable, as the stage was set up to resemble the singer’s living room in California, where she has been performing a series of “Joni Jams” with other musicians in recent years as she relaxes. an aneurysm. . On his first visit to Newport in five decades, Mitchell played guitar, something he was unable to do until recently due to ill health.

“I’m learning,” he told Mason. “I watch the videos that are on the net to see where I put my fingers, you know. It’s amazing what ruptures an aneurysm: how to get up from a chair! You don’t know how to get out of bed. You have to learn all this by heart again. I was in water ballet as a kid and forgot how to breaststroke. Every time I tried, I drowned, you know? So much of going back to childhood almost. You have to learn everything from scratch.”

It was Carlisle’s idea to perform the “Joni Jams” live in Newport, something he says he’s been dreaming of for a long time. “The first time he opened his mouth and sang ‘Summertime’, I saw Herbie Hancock cry and everyone in the room gasp because he decided to sing, he really decided to sing, you know, he knew. I knew he would do it in Newport. I really can’t say how I knew. I imagined there. I imagined the water, the castle and the boats.”

The Newport stage opened with Mitchell, seated on a golden throne, singing songs like ‘Carey’. bluewith Carlyle, as well as “Come in From the Cold” with Taylor Goldsmith of the Dows, and included some popular pop covers such as “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and “Love Potion No. 9” by the Persuasions. “

“Nobody gathers folk singers like the humiliation of trying out a new song in front of Joni Mitchell,” Carlyle said in her introduction to the Newport set she curated, which has also supported an all-star lineup of superfan artists, including. Marcus Mumford, Blake Mills, Lucius, Winona and more; A longtime fan and friend, Carlyle covered Mitchell’s milestone in 1971. blue Full album at Carnegie Hall in November 2021.

Carlyle and Mitchell also collaborated on Mitchell’s 1969 hit “Both Sides Now,” performing a silent version of the ballad while a stage full of musicians was engrossed in the master class, in the video in which country singer Winona held back tears. An emotional performance by Phil and Tim Hanserot, Carlisle’s gang mates. Other highlights included covers of ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, ‘Carrie’, ‘Amelia’, ‘Help Me’, ‘Shine On’, a live version of the George Gershwin Porgy & Bess classic ‘Summertime’ and a basic set by Court. and Sparks. “Game of the Round”.

Mitchell, who survived an episode of polio that left him briefly paralyzed as a child, said earlier this year that he was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors and MusiCares Person of the Year. “I think contact with death like that makes people soft on me!” Mitchell said with a laugh.

This story first appeared on billboard.com