On July 24, 2022, songwriting legend
Joni Mitchell returned to the stage for the first time since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015.
Mitchell's surprise appearance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival was not just her first show since recovering from her aneurysm but her first full-length concert since the early 2000s as well as her first time back to the festival since she played it in 1969. These circumstances alone set the night up for an emotional, triumphant tone, but a cast of high-profile musicians and vocalists like
Brandi Carlile,
Wynonna Judd,
Shooter Jennings,
Blake Mills, and many others assisting in the "Joni Jam" added a celebratory flair to the already joyous night. Live album
Joni Mitchell at Newport captures the majority of that set (omitting a few cover tunes), charging out of the gates with an ecstatic version of "Big Yellow Taxi" and conveying tenderness, curiosity, and communion for 11 selections from across
Mitchell's vast discography. Full-ensemble numbers like "Carey" and a sing-along version of "The Circle Game" are balanced out by more subdued moments such as a shiveringly beautiful rendition of
Hejira tune "Amelia" and
Mitchell stepping out solo on guitar on the fully instrumental "Just Like This Train." The mood throughout is casual and conversational, with various guest singers taking the lead or swooping in to accompany
Mitchell and their fellow Joni Jammers. With a catalog like the one
Joni Mitchell has under her belt, every set list is bound to be full of hits or at least fan favorites, and the Newport concert was heavy on highlights from
Blue to
Court and Spark to 2007's
Shine. It's a wonderful document of an unparalleled artist still radiating creativity, thoughtfulness, and power well into her late seventies. Like most everything else
Mitchell has touched in her storied career,
At Newport is inspiring, moving, and manages to also be a lot of fun. ~ Fred Thomas
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![1967-1970 [50th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602455920959_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "1967-1970 [50th Anniversary Edition]")
![I'm Happy That Y'all Came Down [Live at the Los Angeles Music Center]: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093624885115_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "I'm Happy That Y'all Came Down [Live at the Los Angeles Music Center]: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971")
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