Joni Mitchell Plays Her First Headlined Show in Over Two Decades

According to pitchfork.com, on June 10 artist Joni Mitchell returned to the stage for her first official and ticketed headline concert in over two decades.

The three hour concert took place at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy Washington, where Mitchell was joined by several guests such as Annie Lennox, Blake Mills, Lucius, Sarah McLachlan, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and more.

Artist Brandi Carlile opened the show as the host for the evening. According to reports from the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone, Mitchell and her band performed the  songs “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Night Ride Home,” Raised on Robbery,” “Sex Kills,” “A Case of You,” “Both Sides Now” and others.

As the Los Angeles Times mentioned, Mitchell covered “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess, “Love Potion No. 9,” Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?,” and “Young at Heart,” which is made famous by Frank Sinatra.

Also  a few band members  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 by  Lucius.

Following her surprise appearance at last year’s Newport Folk Festival, Mitchell sat down with CBS Mornings for rare interview to discuss the performance. Then on the following month, the singer was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music.

Berklee president Erica Muhl referred Mitchell as “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.”

When 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 and on July 28, the artist will release a new live album called  Joni Mitchell at Newport, which captures her 2022 set at the festival.