It’s been 56 years since her debut album, and for the first time, Canadian folk legend Joni Mitchell performed at the Grammy Awards.
The 80-year-old icon took the stage at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to sing his 1966 hit. On both sides now.
She was introduced on stage by her collaborator and friend Brandi Carlile, who called Mitchell the “matriarch of imagination.”
“Whether we know it or not, every one of us who has ever dreamed of becoming a truly eye-opening singer-songwriter has done so standing on the shoulders of Joni Mitchell,” Carlile, 42, said.
“Joni is one of the most influential and emotionally generous creators in human history,” he continued. “She redefined the very purpose of a song to reflect the contents of a person’s soul and before making that leap, popular song was a song of observation. It was brilliant and influential, sure, but the exhilarating risk we’re all now taking in turning it inside out for the whole world to see began, as far as I know, with Joni Mitchell doing it first.
Holding a cane adorned with a silver animal head and seated in a gold and cream armchair, Mitchell was flanked by a group of fellow folk musicians – including Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of the pop group Lucius – as chamber orchestra and backup singers. .
Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (center) and American singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile (third from right) perform onstage at the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Valérie Mâcon/AFP via Getty Images
Since recovering from a brain aneurysm in 2015, Mitchell has increased her public appearances. She accepted the Kennedy Center Honors and, in 2022, the Grammy for Best Historical Album.
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Mitchell won her 10th Grammy Award on Sunday in a pre-broadcast ceremony that also presented trophies to Canadian folk singer Allison Russell and bandleader Yannick Nezet-Seguin.
Walking slowly with a cane as she was escorted to the microphone by Carlile, Mitchell took the stage as the audience rose to their feet to see her win Best Folk Album for Joni Mitchell live in Newportwhich captured his return to the stage two years ago.
“I don’t know what to say about it,” Mitchell said, smiling during the pre-broadcast ceremony, draped in a flowing all-black ensemble with a black beret, her long blonde hair in two braids.
“We had so much fun at this concert. And I think that comes through on the record. You know, it’s a very happy record thanks to the people I played with and the atmosphere of the occasion was very good.
Brandi Carlile presents Joni Mitchell for a special Joni Jam at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park on July 24, 2022.
Carlin Stiehl for the Boston Globe via Getty Images
Mitchell won best folk album ahead of artists Dom Flemons, the Milk Carton Kids, Nickel Creek, Old Crow Medicine Show, Paul Simon and Rufus Wainwright.
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— With files from The Canadian Press
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