“I just realized, Joni’s the least nervous person up here,”Brandi Carlile exclaimed halfway through a Newport Folk Festival set that honored Joni Mitchell in her first concert set in over 20 years.
Over 13 songs, Mitchell, who last appeared at the festival 53 years ago, in 1969, held court as a star-studded crew of musicians (Carlile, Blake Mills, Lucius, Wynonna, Celisse, Taylor Goldsmith, Marcus Mumford, and many more) sat around on couches on-stage playing a mix of her favorite oldies (The Persuasions’ “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” The Clovers’ “Love Potion No. 9”Mitchell masterpieces are also available.
Mitchell, who was seated on a throne at the beginning of the set, sang along to some songs occasionally, sometimes accompanied by Carlile and other vocalists.“Carey”) Goldsmith, (1991’s “Come In From The Cold”Celisse (“Help Me”). The 78-year-old singer, who had not sang on stage in almost a decade, stood up and played a long solo guitar at the end of the performance.“Just Like This Train”) and sang a moving baritone lead vocal on Gershwin’s “Summertime’”It’s also a tear-jerker. “Both Sides Now”And “Circle Game.”
The premise: Recreate the famous “Joni Jams,” the informal A-list gatherings of musicians at Mitchell’s Los Angeles home in recent years, where everyone from Carlile to Elton John to Herbie Hancock to Bonnie Raitt gather around Mitchell and trade songs and stories in the years following Mitchell’s aneurysm.”No one brings folk singers together like the humility of trying out a new song in front of Joni fucking Mitchell,” as Carlile, who curated and organized the entire set, explained in the introduction to the performance.
At the end of the set, Carlile pronounced the night’s eternal important: “Joni Mitchell,”She declared, “has returned.”