Joni Mitchell played the guitar parts of her iconic song ‘Just Like This Train’ in July onstage with Brandi Carlile, Taylor Goldsmith, Wynonna Jude, and Marcus Mumford at the Newport Folk Festival. However, she was also expected to sing it. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Mitchell explained why she couldn’t sing the song instead.
She clarified the situation by stating, “[We] didn’t have any [rehearsal].” As she didn’t perform onstage for a long time due to health issues, a rehearsal was necessary for her to sing. However, these problems also affected her vocals in general. “I couldn’t sing the key; I’ve become an alto, I’m not a soprano anymore, so I couldn’t sing the song.”
Although she wanted to sing to expand the greatness of the surprise onstage that day, she felt insecure about singing, as it would not satisfy the audience. However, these fears became redundant when she received massive support from the musicians onstage and the crowd. “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.”
Joni Mitchell is an important figure in the rock and roll world as a talented musician. She is still respected and looked up to even though she had been held back by a brain aneurysm she suffered in 2015. It took a while for her to get back on track physically, but eventually, she felt fine making occasional appearances onstage after ongoing physical therapy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8PfSzwA-Y4
