THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Joni Mitchell stunned the Newport Folk Festival audience last summer when she gave a surprise performance — her first in 20 years — and deliver a heartfelt set filled with some of her greatest songs.
Mitchell’s triumphant return to the stage on July 24, 2022, is captured on the new live album At Newport, which was produced by close collaborator Brandi Carlile along with Mitchell. The icon was joined on stage by a star-studded band included Carlile and her bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and more. Mitchell delighted the audience, blending her voice with the other singers on stage on classics like Big Yellow Taxi, A Case Of You and Both Sides Now. For good measure, she even flashed her guitar prowess, playing a solo instrumental version of Just Like This Train.
In his liner notes for At Newport, Cameron Crowe writes about Mitchell’s arduous and miraculous recovery from a life-threatening brain aneurysm in 2015, that led to her emotional return at Newport. “Mitchell emerged from the side of the stage, swaying smoothly, in fine summer style with beret and sunglasses. Her good-natured mood instantly set the tone. This performance would be an intimate gathering of friends, not unlike the Joni Jams she’d been hosting in her own living room over the last few years of recovery. Smiling broadly, Mitchell made her surprise appearance, taking her onstage seat alongside Carlile. Within minutes, the news had rocketed around the globe. Mitchell was back, sparkling with enthusiasm, delivering a tender and passionate set of 13 songs, ending with a joyful sing-along of The Circle Game.”
