Joni Mitchell has walked the Grammy Awards stage several times in the past. She has won nine Grammys over the course of her long and illustrious career. Earlier tonight (February 4), she picked up her tenth. However, she has never performed on the award show. That finally changed tonight.
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Mitchell didn’t just perform tonight. She also took home an award. Her album At Newport was up for Best Folk Album. The fact that the Mithcell took home the trophy for this album is a big deal. They recorded the album during the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. It was the icon’s first full concert in more than 20 years. At the same time, it was her first full performance after suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015. At Newport isn’t just a great folk album. It’s a milestone in an already long and lauded career. It marked the return of one of the greats and brought her a well-deserved win.
Brandi Carlisle, who won a Grammy earlier tonight with Brandy Clark for “Dear Insecurity” and was instrumental in getting Mitchell back into the limelight, introduced the icon to the Grammy stage.
Joni Mitchell took the stage with a group of talented performers to sing “Both Sides Now” from her 1969 album Clouds. Carlile, Jacob Collier, Lucius, Blake Mills, Allison Russell, and SistaStrings joined the legend for the performance. Mitchell performed seated in a plush chair. As the song went on, viewers could see the group of musicians around her, seated in similar chairs. It looked to all the world like a matriarch bringing a younger generation of artists together for a jam session in a well-appointed parlor.
Joni Mitchell Plots Concert at the Hollywood Bowl
The concert is being billed as “Joni Mitchell & the Joni Jam.” It will take place on October 19 at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Currently, details on the lineup are unclear. However, many expect Carlisle and other performers to join Mitchell for the concert. The October outing at the Hollywood Bowl will be Mitchell’s first headlining show in Los Angeles in more than 20 years. Her last headlining show in the city was in 2000 at the Greek Theatre.
Featured image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
