Joni Mitchell sat down with Elton John on Saturday (November 12) for a rare interview on his Apple Music 1 show Elton John’s Rocket Hour. During the conversation, Mitchell revealed that she’s working on releasing a live recording documenting her surprise performance at the Newport Folk Festival this summer.
“I’ve seen you through music, and of course your incredible rehabilitation, but music has helped you so much and it’s beautiful to watch you evolve,” John said. “And people out there, you haven’t heard things from the Newport Folk Festival yet, but I think there’s going to be an album coming out of that one?” Mitchell then replied: “Yeah, we’re trying to put that out.”
She went on to reveal that she “didn’t have any” rehearsals ahead of the performance. After John noted that she stood up to play the guitar, Mitchell said, “Yeah, that I had to figure out what I did. And I couldn’t sing the key, I’ve become an alto, I’m not a soprano anymore, so I couldn’t sing the song. And I thought people might feel lighted that if I just played the guitar part but I like the guitar part to that song. So anyway, it was very well received, much to my delight.”
Mitchell is set to return to the stage next year, playing a “Joni Jam” concert with Brandi Carlile at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington, on July 10, 2023.