Joni Jam: How Joni Mitchell’s live shows perfectly celebrate her legacy
At 81 years old, Joni Mitchell is still playing live. Not only is she still performing, but since her return to the stage in 2022, her shows have felt more poignant and moving than ever as she’s brought her Joni Jams to the stage, surrounding herself with a cast of incredible musicians worthy of honouring her incredible music in a way that is perfectly epitomising of her legacy and career.
The history of Joni Jams is longer than her live return might suggest. While they went public in July 2022 when Mitchell, Brandi Carlisle and an extended circle of musicians and singers performed at Newport Folk Festival, marking her first performance in nine years – they’ve been happening in private for a long time.
It all goes back to 2015 when Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm rupture. Forcing her to undergo physical therapy and do daily rehabilitation exercises, the musician had to learn to walk again, let alone figure out how to play music. The event changed her relationship to performing for sure, but also to playing music in general. It became a difficult thing in stark contrast to the ease and enjoyment it had always represented throughout her younger years.
But as she was recovering, her Laurel Canyon home buzzed with visitors like musician Eric Andersen, who played music with her and encouraged her to reconnect with the music community as a way to bolster herself and reignite her love for it. So from then on, from that visit in 2017, Mitchell began hosting monthly music sessions, inviting singers and players into her home. Organised by Carlise, who enlisted a series of names to come along and join in, Mitchell’s living room hosted performances from Elton John, Paul McCartney, Harry Styles, Hozier, Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan and many more names.
At some point over the course of their gatherings, Mitchell began to sing again. With her spirits raised by the community of musicians she surrounded herself with and her heart inspired by the younger, more up-and-coming performers she met who shared how her work had impacted them, she began returning to her own music. By July 2022, at the Newport Folk Festival, the decision to put the Joni Jam on stage was a testament to their power in Mitchell’s life.
But beyond their impact on the musician herself, and their role in helping her perform these songs again as she provide backing vocals and musical support now she can no longer fully carry these works herself, the performances have an impact on everyone around them; both in the audience, and the players on stage alongside her.
Take a look at one of the videos from that first performance. As Mitchell sings ‘Both Sides Now’, a song about growing up and never truly understanding the world, written in her 20s and now sung in her 80s, everyone around her looks so in love. Mitchell looks as powerful and regal as she deserves to, sitting on a kind of throne. But around her, every musician on the stage looks deeply moved and honoured to be sat up there with her, likely all with their own story as to how her music has inspired them or impacted their own work and career. Carlisle cries gently. Singers put their arms around each other and hug while others just watch, eyes wide and awestruck.
Given how influential of an artist Mitchell has been, the act of filling her stage with supporting musicians who can testify to that feels like such a beautiful homage to her. It is such a powerful representation of Mitchell’s position in culture, and the way her music proves that deeply personal, confessional works can be universally moving and relatable. The success of her work stood as the ultimate proof that beautifully put, richly emotive lyricism will touch people – so having a gaggle of those people up there on stage singing it with her is a gorgeous visualisation of her legacy as well as ensuring her songs still sound as great as they always have and as they deserve to.
