Joni Mitchell Makes Rare Live Appearance at Newport Folk Festival: Watch

Paul Simon wasn’t the only surprise guest at this weekend’s Newport Folk Festival. Joni Mitchell took the stage on Sunday for a rare live performance, joining Brandi Carlile to sing “A Case of You” and “Just Like This Train.”

Mitchell has been largely retired from music since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015. Earlier this year, she made a rare public appearance at the Grammy Awards, where she was honored as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year and received a trophy for Best Historical Album for her retrospective album, Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol 1: The Early Years (1963-1967).

At Newport, Mitchell appropriately performed while sitting on a throne. In addition to Carlile, she was backed by a number of other musicians, including Marcus Mumford, Lucius, Blake Mills, Taylor Goldsmith, and more. Watch fan-captured footage of Mitchell’s surprise performance below.

On Saturday, Paul Simon made his own surprise appearance during Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ headlining set, sitting in for four songs.

Joni Mitchell took the stage at @NewportFolkFest on Sunday for a rare live performance, joining @BrandiCarlile to sing “A Case of You” and “Just Like This Train”: https://t.co/PhBeGJ8gMa pic.twitter.com/OqNa6ZZcLS

— Consequence (@consequence) July 25, 2022

What is life? Joni Mitchell singing A Case of You with Brandi Carlile!#NewportFolkFest pic.twitter.com/61KbnaQFAj

— Aimsel Ponti (@Aimsel) July 24, 2022