Joni Mitchell Makes Grammys Performance Debut With Stunning, Emotional ‘Both Sides Now’

More than 50 years after Joni Mitchell won her first Grammy, the legendary singer-songwriter made her debut performance at the ceremony.

Held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the performance opened with an introduction from Mitchell’s friend and frequent collaborator Brandi Carlile, who described her as “The matriarch of imagination, a true renaissance woman, my hero and yours.” Mitchell then appeared onstage with a beautiful rendition of “Both Sides Now,” accompanied by Carlile, Russell, Blake Mills, Lucius, Jacob Collier, and Sista Strings.

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“Both Sides Now” is a poignant choice for the singer, as it was released off her second album Clouds, which won Mitchell the award for Best Folk Performance back in 1969 (Judy Collins had previously scored a hit with the song in 1968). Speaking to the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast last week, executive producer Raj Kapoor alluded that Mitchell would perform the Clouds classic. “It will be a song that I think everybody knows,” he said. “And if you are a Joni Mitchell fan, it’s the song that you want to hear.”

Mitchell’s live album Joni Mitchell at Newport — which captured her first full set in more than two decades — won a Grammy for Best Folk Album, making it her 18th Grammy nomination and 10th win overall. In 2022, she was named the MusiCares Person of the Year.

Mitchell’s momentous evening is the latest in what’s been a career resurgence for the 80-year-old, which largely began in 2019 when she made her first public appearance (at the premiere of Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous musical) after nearly dying from a brain aneurysm in 2015. Since then, she’s kept busy unearthing gems with her archive series, the most recent installment being Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972–1975), released last fall.

Following her performance at Newport, Mitchell played to 25,000 fans at the Gorge Amphitheater last summer. She recently announced a night at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 19. Much to the relief of her newfound Gen Z/millennial fans, a second show was subsequently added (for Oct. 20) due to high demand.

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