Photo: Getty Images
Brandi Carlile can’t stop gushing over Joni Mitchell and her iconic appearance at the Newport Folk Festival over the weekend in Newport, Rhode Island. The stunning surprise performance is one that Carlile hasn't seen anything like before.
“I’ve really never seen anything like what [Joni Mitchell] accomplished at the [Newport Folk Festival] on Sunday (July 24),” Carlile captioned a series of photos on Instagram. “She showed the whole world that there’s still so much goodness in us as a species. She did the revolutionary work of true reconciliation. I can NOT come down!!!
“I’m gonna go fishing and just hang out with my thoughts for awhile… feeling better about the world than I have in a long time,” Carlile continued. “My love and gratitude for the Joni Jam crew is overwhelming me today…Will any of us ever be the same?”
Earlier in the week Carlile shared a clip from the festival, reflecting on the epic moment. “Joni’s looked at life from so many sides and she came out of the storm singing like a prophet,” she said in her caption. “After all she’s been through she returned to the [Newport Folk Festival] stage after 53 years and I will never forget sitting next to her while she stopped this old world for a while…I will never be over this.
“I can’t even watch it without the tears coming back. Please forgive me… I can’t quite find the words yet,” Carlile wrote. “There’s so much value and peace in our way pavers. Hold them up extra high today. It’s never too late. Joni Mitchell TRIUMPHS at Newport!”
Other artists — including Maren Morris, Tanya Tucker, Allison Russell and Wynonna Judd, to name a few — also expressed their awe of Mitchell’s performance. Newport Folk Festival organizers said on Instagram, “even we don’t know how we’re going to top this weekend! Closing out with the Joni Jam was a bucket list item for all.”
The unbelievable surprise appearance marked Mitchell’s first public performance since she endured a brain aneurysm in 2015, CBS News noted in a recent report. Several years after her last public performance, Mitchell made a comeback to a crowd that went wild.
Watch the clip Carlile shared here: