Joni Mitchell: What a Wonderful Surprise at Newport

Joni Mitchell at Newport

What a wonderful surprise that Joni Mitchell gave us at the Newport Folk Festival Sunday evening. 

For the first time since 1969, the revered Canadian singer/songwriter returned to Rhode Island with her voice and electric guitar at the ready and played a historic set to close this year’s festival. It was her first full-length public concert in about two decades.

Credit goes to singer Brandi Carlisle for bringing Mitchell and her popular music back to the performance stage. The Fort Adams crowd was filled with elation as the 78-year-old legend gave new meaning to many of her iconic songs such as “Both Sides Now,” “Help Me,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “A Case of You,” and “Both Sides Now.”

As Mitchell sat in a Louis XIV-style chair on the festival stage – likened by many as a throne – wearing a beret, a grey-toned satin pants ensemble and decked with glittering beads and sunglasses, she began her set with a group sing-a-long to “Carey,” one of the chestnuts from her 1971 album Blue, regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. The group included Carlisle and Wynonna Judd. 

Later, Mitchell’s set included “Amelia,” about Amelia Earhart, which she penned for her jazz-inspired 1976 album Hejira as well as a long, electric guitar solo interlude on the 1974 tune “Just Like This Train” from Court and Spark that reminded everyone of her keen sense of jazz phrasing. Despite having gone through health struggles in recent years, recovering from a 2015 brain aneurysm that required her to re-learn how to talk and walk, the elder Mitchell looked in good spirits on this evening – surrounded by friends – and her 13-song set showed her strength of will is second to none.

Looking back, one of my set favorites was Mitchell’s lower-register interpretation of the Gershwin classic “Summertime,” from the 1935 opera Porgy & Bess. The husky sound of Mitchell’s voice brought to mind that of Nina Simone, another wonderful interpreter of the Gershwin aria. Listening with great interest, there was a determination that couldn’t be denied in the sound of Mitchell’s voice in this classic tune.

Mitchell’s set ended with “The Circle Game,” which she performed more than half a century ago in Newport.

“After all she’s been through, she returned to the Newport Folk Fest stage after 53 years and I will never forget sitting next to her while she stopped this old world for a while,” Carlisle, who sang backup for Mitchell, wrote on Twitter.

Indeed, Mitchell has looked at life from both sides and, now, she’s come full circle in this one memorable evening.

Mitchell’s memorable set list included: “Carey,” “Come In From the Cold,” “Help Me,” “Case of You,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Just Like This Train,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “Amelia,” “Love Potion #9,” “Shine,” “Summertime,” “Both Sides Now,” and “The Circle Game.”

On Sunday, Mitchell’s eternal songs echoed with a sense pride and joy spread that transcended across generations. Long may she live – and may her songs continue to shine brightly among the music canon.

Cover photo: Courtesy of Newport Folk Festival YouTube video.

Videos: Courtesy of YouTube.