Emmylou Harris Brings Out Joan Baez For Steve Earle Cover At Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Festival mainstay Emmylou Harris once again performed at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park last weekend. The 77-year-old Harris’ golden hour set at the Banjo Stage on Sunday (October 6) featured a surprise appearance by folk legend Joan Baez.

Harris was near the midpoint of her HSB set when she and her band played “God Is God” by Steve Earle, who performed at the event on Saturday and was joined by Harris during his set.

Harris prefaced the song by speaking about her affection for Earle and Baez. Harris noted that “God Is God” was recorded by Baez for her 2008 Earle-produced album, Day After Tomorrow. Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter performed “God Is God” at the 2021 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony recognizing Baez.

Harris was in the midst of performing “God Is God” when Baez, who has rarely performed publicly since retiring in 2019, made a seemingly impromptu decision to join the performance. Sharing Harris’ microphone, the pair of legendary musicians worked their way through the song together, helping each other remember lyrics.

Watch the surprise collaboration between Joan Baez and EmmyLou Harris while performing Steve Earle’s song “God Is God” via the link below (starting at ~07:56:44):

https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.vhx.tv/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-2024-live-streams/videos/banjo-stage-sunday