Joni Mitchell Announces 1st Concert Since 2000

Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile will join forces for a two-night run dubbed “Echoes Through The Canyon” at The Gorge in Washington state next summer. Carlile will headline on June 9 (with additional performers to be announced), while Mitchell headlines on June 10 with Carlile and “The Joni Jam” backing band of unconfirmed artists also on the lineup for what will be Joni’s first non-festival, full concert in over two decades.

“Echoes Through The Canyon” follows Joni Mitchell's surprise appearance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. The 10-time Grammy winner took the stage on July 24 at the festival in Newport, Rhode Island for her first full set in public since 2000. Mitchell was accompanied by Carlile and an array of special guests throughout the 13-song “Joni Jam” performance.

Brandi Carlile revealed the news on last night’s episode of The Daily Show as first reported by Billboard. Carlile recalled Joni told her “I want to do another show. She said, ‘I want to play again.’” The pair will take the stage at The Gorge, a venue Brandi pointed out is “one of the most beautiful venues in the world.”

“You haven’t been able to buy tickets … no one’s been able to buy a ticket to see Joni Mitchell play in 20 years,” Carlile added. Fans will have a chance to purchase tickets for the two shows via the general onsale next Friday, October 28 at 10 a.m. PT. Links can be found here:

Watch Brandi announce the shows below:

Mitchell continues her comeback in the wake of a brain aneurysm rupture suffered in 2015. The 78-year-old musician held a series of jam sessions at her home in Los Angeles with such luminaries as Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Hozier, Mavis Staples and Harry Styles in the years before the pandemic began.

Carlile, who has twice covered Mitchell's iconic 1971 album Blue in its entirety, persuaded Joni to play at Newport Folk. The “Joni Jam” set was akin to the private jam sessions as Carlile and Mitchell performed from gold thrones accompanied by Wynonna Judd, Blake Mills, Marcus Mumford, Lucius’ Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, Phil and Tim Hanseroth and others. An exception to the format came when Joni Mitchell stood and played guitar on “Just Like This Train.”

Washington state native Brandi Carlile headlined guest-filled concerts of her own at The Gorge in 2019, 2021 and earlier this year. Emmylou Harris was among Brandi’s guests in 2019, while she welcomed members of Soundgarden and Sheryl Crow in 2021. Carlile returned to the idyllic venue on June 11, 2022 for a concert featuring appearances from Sarah McLachlan, Lucius, Celisse and others.