Culture
27 Jul 22

Joni Mitchell surprised Newport Folk Festival with first full live show since 2002

The musician’s set at the Newport Folk festival was her first since she had a brain aneurysm in 2015.

At the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, the closing set billed "Brandi Carlile & Friends" shocked the crowd when Joni Mitchell appeared on stage. The Blue icon's last full live show was at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on 13 November 2002.

She was joined by many other talented folk musicians like Wynonna Judd, Holly Laessig, and Marcus Mumford, all orchestrated by Carlile.

What a wonderful night! Thank you @BrandiCarlile and @NewportFolkFest for hosting Joni’s return to the stage after all these years. https://t.co/3ucIuYbEgO

📷 Nina Westervelt pic.twitter.com/KHbP9td2JR

— Joni Mitchell (@jonimitchell) July 25, 2022

Mitchell has been critically acclaimed since her debut album in 1967. She is a 12 time Grammy winner, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has record sales of $7 million in the US alone. The 78 year old Canadian-American singer-songwriter has not performed a full live set in two decades, and suffered a near death experience due to a brain aneurysm in 2015.

The aneurysm took many skills from her, leaving her to relearn music from scratch. In an interview with CBS news, she described it as "going back to infancy almost. You have to relearn everything." She taught herself to play guitar again by watching videos of herself playing online, and studying "where [she] put [her] fingers." Mitchell's brain surgeon told her she had "will and grit," and she agreed. "I've recovered from a lot of things," she said.

Mitchell graced the Newport stage once again after playing the Folk Festival 53 years ago. She opened with 'Both Sides Now', and played hits 'Big Yellow Taxi', 'A Case of You', and more.

Watch Joni performing “Both Sides Now” alongside @BrandiCarlile @MarcusMumford Taylor Goldsmith @_BlakeMills @Lucius @Wynonna @Celisse @outsidechild13 at @NewportFolkFest

See the full clip here: https://t.co/3ucIuYbEgO

📷 Adam Kissick pic.twitter.com/Mjx3F0NPvL

— Joni Mitchell (@jonimitchell) July 27, 2022

She even stood up out of her seat to play 'Just Like This Train' on the electric guitar. Many were inspired by her set, including Brandi Carlile, who tweeted, "I will never forget sitting next to her while she stopped this old world for a while..."

“Something’s lost but something’s gained… in living everyday.”https://t.co/59z9XhztM5 pic.twitter.com/aSJR3o2n5v

— Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile) July 25, 2022

Watch Mitchell play the guitar for 'Just Like This Train' from her album Court and Spark below: