Joni Mitchell Performs In Public For First Time Since 2013 At Newport Folk Festival

Photo by Boston Globe/Getty Images

It had been a long while since folk singer Joni Mitchell had graced the world with her beautiful voice. However, we were once again blessed as Joni surprised guests at the Newport Folk Festival last weekend with her first public performance since 2013.

Joni joined in with a large group of musicians for the performance on July 24th that included Brandi Carlile, Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith, and Blake Mills. The 13-song “Joni Jam” consisted of the singer/songwriter’s famous hits such as A Case Of You, Both Sides Now, and Big Yellow Taxi amongst several covers as well.

At 78-years-old, Joni Mitchell impressed the audience of all ages as well as old friends like David Crosby. After recently reporting that Joni was unable to sing because of her health problems, the festival performance led Crosby to tweet, “Well I was wrong … she’s singing … she can sing … thank you, god … our world is little better tonight.”

Joni has strayed away from performing ever since she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015. It wasn’t her first exposure to bad health as she was also diagnosed with polio when she was only 9-years-old.

It truly was a treat having Joni Mitchell back in action at the Rhode Island festival that she hadn’t performed at since 1969. We hope to see more of the legendary singer in the future!

Watch Joni Mitchell and others perform her classic Big Yellow Taxi during the “Joni Jam” here: