Few expected Joni Mitchell to ever perform again after the singer survived a near-fatal aneurism in 2015. But with the help of Brandi Carlile and other famous fans who turned their invite-only Laurel Canyon Joni Jams into a two-hour performance, Mitchell returned to the stage during a surprise set at the 2022 Newport folk festival.
Since then, the songwriter from Alberta, Canada (real name Roberta Joan Anderson), headlined a show in Washington state and dropped in on this year’s Grammys. It’s a triumphant victory lap for a 80-year-old who, less than a decade ago, this publication wrote a sort of obituary for. Still, when I bought tickets to Mitchell’s second night of a sold-out weekend at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this year, I was expecting a somber turnout from Mitchell, who sings sitting down on a plush velvet loveseat, using a cane to both keep the beat and keep her upright. She’s been written off as fragile, a little shaky.
