Folk singer Joni Mitchell made history at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards by performing on the Grammys stage for the first time in her decades-long career.
The 80-year-old was introduced by friend and fellow musician Brandi Carlile, who called Mitchell “one of the most influential and emotionally generous creators in human history.”
“Whether we know it or not any one of us out here who ever dreamed of becoming a truly self-revealing singer-songwriter did it standing on the shoulders of one, Joni Mitchell,” Carlile said. “She redefined the very purpose of a song to reflect the contents of a person’s soul and before she took this leap, the popular song was observational.”
Carlile and Mitchell then performed Mitchell’s 1968 hit “Both Sides Now,” which resulted in a standing ovation from the crowd. Watch the video of the moving performance below:
Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile.#GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/5OMBC7haZx
— Craig R. Brittain (@RealBrittain) February 5, 2024
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While it was Mitchell’s first performance at the Grammys, she has a total of 10 Grammy Awards, winning her latest at Sunday’s ceremony.
Mitchell took home the award for Best Folk Album for “Joni Mitchell at Newport,” a live concert recorded in 2022.
“We had so much fun at that concert and I think you can feel it on the record,” she said during her acceptance speech. “It’s a very joyous record because of the people that I played with and the spirit of the occasion was very high.”
You can watch her acceptance speech below:
Mitchell’s appearance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival that later turned into the now Grammy-winning album was a surprise, as concert-goes were actually there to see “Brandi Carlile and Friends,” not knowing who those friends would be.
The performance was the first time she had performed a full set in public in 22 years, but it had been 53 years since she last performed at the 1969 Newport Folk Festival.
If you want to go back even further, take a look at Mitchell performing “Both Sides Now” at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970, just two years after it was released:
Congratulations on your latest Grammy, Joni!
Watch Joni Mitchell’s moving performance at the 2024 Grammys originally appeared on Simplemost.com
