President Obama adds Coyote to his summer playlist. Check out all his selections.

Tomorrow will be the 50th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s masterpiece, Blue. To celebrate, Rhino is releasing two new collections that offer different perspectives on one of the greatest albums ever made and the inspired period of creativity that made it possible.

Rhino kicks off the celebration today with the release of BLUE 50 (DEMOS & OUTTAKES), a digital EP that debuts five unreleased recordings (see visualization at right) from the making of Blue that will appear on the upcoming Archives collection. The striking cover of the BLUE 50 EP features the original Blue color treatment with a previously unseen alternate photo of Mitchell by Tim Considine from the same session as the original.

All five of these tracks will also be included in JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES VOL. 2: THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971), which will be released on October 29 as a 5-CD set ($64.98). The music will be available the same day exclusively at JoniMitchell.com as a 10-LP set ($249.98) on 180-gram vinyl that will be limited to 4,000 copies. Any ARCHIVES VOL.2 music product purchased on the official Joni Mitchell store comes with an exclusive 7”x7” art print featuring a never-before-seen illustration by Mitchell from the era. More information here.

Patrick Sky was an American singer songwriter, folk musician, guitarist, producer, and accomplished builder and player of the Irish uilleann pipes. Patrick was of Irish and Cree Indian descent- a seminal figure, along with Eric Anderson and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in the folk music revival in the mid-1960s. Notably, Patrick produced recordings by the legendary blues guitarist and singer Mississippi John Hurt for Vanguard Records.

Joni and Patrick were on the same billing at least twice, once on the Let's Sing Out program in October of 1965, and again at a Syracuse University gig in December of 1969. Patrick was the inspiration for song The Last Time I Saw Richard, as revealed in Michelle Mercer's 2009 book Will You Take Me As I Am: "...this is where that song came from,” [Joni] said. “Patrick Sky, a fellow folksinger, said to me one night in a bar in New York, 'Oh, Joni, you're a hopeless romantic. There's only one way for you to go. Hopeless cynicism. That one little nugget became the song."

Patrick died this morning in Ashville, North Carolina, surrounded by family. He was 77 years old. [Photo by David Gahr, 1965]

Details to follow...

Joni Mitchell & Rhino announce a new, limited-edition LP of material culled from the recent acclaimed set, 'Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1968).' This 12-song LP is strictly limited to 15,000 copies and will be available in stores starting June 12, 2021 for RSD Drops.

Side 1:
House of the Rising Sun
Pastures of Plenty
Seven Daffodils
Urge for Going
Day After Day
The Circle Game

Side 2:
Both Sides Now
Born To Take the Highway
Blue On Blue
Strawflower Me
Chelsea Morning
I Don't Know Where I Stand

All tracks previously released on the 5-CD box set Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967), Rhino box set. Check your local independent record store!

On June 22, 1971, Joni released Blue, concluding her prolific four-album run for Reprise Records with an album considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time. Its stirring songs have been celebrated by music lovers and critics alike for decades while inspiring a wide variety of artists as diverse as Prince and Taylor Swift. Even today, its stature as a masterpiece continues to grow. Just last year, the album was named #3 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

To celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary, Rhino is releasing THE REPRISE ALBUMS (1968- 1971), featuring newly remastered versions of Blue (1971) and the three albums that came before it: Song To A Seagull (1968), Clouds (1969), and Ladies Of The Canyon (1970). In the case of Song To A Seagull, the original mix has been recently updated by Joni and mixer Matt Lee. “The original mix was atrocious,” says Joni. “It sounded like it was recorded under a jello bowl, so I fixed it!”

THE REPRISE ALBUMS (1968-1971) will be available on July 2 in 4-CD and 4-LP 180-gram vinyl (Limited Edition of 10,000) versions, as well as digitally. The newly remastered version of “A Case Of You” from Blue is available today on all digital download and streaming services. Pre-order the CD or LP version of THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971) from JoniMitchell.com and you'll also receive an exclusive limited edition 7” x 7” print of the self-portrait featured on the cover art.

Read the press release here and visit the store for more information.

Joni Mitchell's 75th birthday celebration concert from Music Center LA is coming to select theater locations as a Private Watch Party! Through April 22, you can safely gather up to 20 friends in your own auditorium to see Brandi Carlile, Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Seal, Rufus Wainwright and more light up the big screen with incredible musical performances from throughout Joni's remarkable career.

More information on booking your screening here.

SFJAZZ announces new members of the award-winning SFJAZZ Collective – saxophonist and music director Chris Potter, vocalist Lizz Wright, bassist Aneesa Strings, and drummer Kendrick A.D. Scott. This lineup will explore the music of Joni Mitchell in 2021 and is planning tours in 2022. Formed in 2004, SFJAZZ Collective lineup also includes tenor saxophonist David Sánchez, trumpeter Etienne Charles, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and pianist Edward Simon.

During the Spring of 2021, the SFJAZZ Collective will explore the music of iconic singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell who received the 2015 SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award. Mitchell is a singular artist with deep connections to the jazz continuum whose work continues to have an extraordinary impact on popular culture. The SFJAZZ Collective is currently in the studio, virtually, recording innovative versions of her classic songs as well as new compositions inspired by her legacy. This material will be the basis for the band’s upcoming album to be released in Fall 2021. The group is making plans to present this material in 2022 on US and international tours.

More information here. Press release here.

"It is well known that Joni Mitchell and her engineer and creative catalyst Henry Lewy worked as a partnership to make all of her 1970s albums, in a pretty closed door operation. However, on Hejira, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and Mingus, a third production partner was involved, from running the tape machine to mic placement, from tracking through mixing - A&M staff engineer Steve Katz.

"Steve was at A&M from 1974 to 1983, nine important years in the booming record business at that time, and he helped create some of the great albums of that time coming out of Los Angeles." -Dave Blackburn

Beginning in New York City as a teenager, Sherry chronicled the artists redefining what pop music was as the 60s gave way to the 70s for various underground magazines. Early iconic photographs of Tina Turner, Joni, James Taylor, and Laura Nyro created trust and opened doors for revelatory images of Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt.

By the time she arrived in Los Angeles, the Troubadour scene was full-force. Sherry, who plays a blue Fender Stratocaster, was on the frontlines of the rock, pop, folk and Laurel Canyon country-rock scenes as much a fellow musician as a photographer documenting the music.

A great coffee table addition for all Joni and Troubadour completists! More information here.

"As the first staff photographer for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1960s, he captured some of the most enduring faces of the era in their prime: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, Janis Joplin, Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead and Steve Miller, among others.

On Oct. 4, Wolman posted a grim message on social media saying that in 2019 he was diagnosed with ALS - the terminal motor-neuron illness better known as Lou Gehrig's disease - and was nearing the end of his life.

"Sad to say I'm now in the final sprint to the end," he wrote. "I go forward with a huge amount of gratitude for the many blessings bestowed upon me... with no regrets, and appreciation for how my photographs - my life's work - have been received."

He died at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Monday, Nov. 2, Dianne Duenzl, his representative, said in a statement. He was 83.
-Aidin Vaziri

Joni is opening her vault for the first time to create the Joni Mitchell Archives, a new series of boxed set releases that will span the next several years, featuring deep dives into unreleased content from different eras of her storied career. Joni has been intimately involved in producing the archive series, lending her vision and personal touch to every element of the project. The first set is being officially announced today, to be released October 30. Click the new STORE link above for special exclusive website offers.

Annie Ross of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross died today in New York City. She was 4 days shy of her 90th birthday. In a 1986 interview, Joni stated that "...friends of mine who were older than me and in college began talking about Lambert, Hendricks and Ross as the hottest new sound in jazz. Their record flipped me out, but it was already out of print. I had to finally buy it off somebody and pay a lot, maybe fifteen dollars, which was unheard of at that time. But you couldn't get the record anywhere. Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were my Beatles. In high school, theirs was the record I wore thin, the one I knew all the words to."

In 1952, Ross met Prestige Records owner Bob Weinstock, who asked her to write lyrics to a jazz solo in a similar way to King Pleasure, a practice that would later be known as vocalese. The next day, she presented him with the song "Twisted", a treatment of saxophonist Wardell Gray's 1949 composition of the same name- a song Joni later recorded on the Court and Spark album.

Superstars (including Joni) and rising stars band together to ask Congress to support independent music venues across the country in the quest to #SaveOurStages.

"Independent venues give artists their start, often as the first stage most of us have played on. These venues were the first to close and will be the last to reopen. With zero revenue and the overwhelming overhead of rent, mortgage, utilities, taxes and insurance, 90% of independent venues report that if the shutdown lasts six months and there’s no federal assistance, they will never reopen again."

A new two-part documentary series titled Laurel Canyon, focusing on the fertile music scene that coalesced in the Los Angeles neighborhood of the same name, where many famous artists resided and congregated starting in the late 1960s, will premiere on Epix on May 31 and June 7 at 9 p.m. ET.

The program will include music from such legendary artists as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Eagles, The Mamas & the Papas, Jackson Browne, The Monkees, The Turtles, Buffalo Springfield and more.

It also will feature rare and newly rediscovered film footage and audio, as well as new interviews with Browne, Don Henley, Michelle Phillips, Graham Nash, Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Roger McGuinn and others.

You can check out a teaser trailer for Laurel Canyon now at the Epix YouTube channel. The video includes a montage of archival film and photos of various famous musicians, along with commentary from The Monkees' Micky Dolenz, Nash, David Crosby and more.

Dolenz notes that Laurel Canyon "was a very small community of musicians and long-haired weirdos," while Nash declares, "We were at the very center of this beautiful bubble of creativity and friendship."

Crosby, meanwhile, says, "When a chemistry happens between people musically, it's magic."

Laurel Canyon was directed by Alison Ellwood, whose credits include 2013's History of the Eagles and the new documentary The Go-Go's.

Philadelphia’s Gene Shay — the voice of a music community for over 50 years, a celebrator and curator of folk music on the airwaves and an eager supporter of it from the stage — has passed away at age 85 from complications surrounding COVID-19. Shay debuted on Philadelphia radio in 1962 at WRTI, and hosted the Folk Show on WXPN from 1995 to 2015.

The impact and influence of that show cannot be overstated. Joni famously wrote her song “Both Sides Now” during downtime when she was playing two nights at Sansom Street venue The Second Fret, and premiered it with an acoustic performance for Shay and his listeners on the WDAS airwaves. [-John Vettese].

You can read a series of interviews with Gene and Joni here.

Wallace Roney, a trumpeter and composer who embodied the pugnacious, harmonically restive side of post-bop throughout an illustrious four-decade career, died Tuesday at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J. He was 59. The cause was complications from COVID-19. (Nate Chinen)

Wallace played trumpet for Joni on her 2000 "Both Sides Now" tour.

Our review of The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell, a new children's book by Selina Alko.

In a new book, available April 7, 28 crime writers pay tribute to Joni's musical legacy with short stories inspired by her lyrics, representing each of her seventeen studio albums from 1968's Song to a Seagull to 2007's Shine. Joni was once asked to explain a song: "Who cares what I meant, what does it mean to you?" This book answers that.

Lyle Mays passed away this morning in Los Angeles. Lyle was an integral part of Joni's 1979 tour with Pat Metheny, Jaco, Michael Brecker, and Don Alias. He and Pat's hauntingly beautiful transition between Amelia and Hejira stands as one of the enduring highlights of the tour. Lyle was a founding member of the Pat Metheny Group, providing arrangements, orchestration, and the harmonic and metric backbone of the group's musical signature.

Craft Recordings has announced the first-ever vinyl release of Joni’s 2007 album, Shine. Available April 3rd, and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, the acclaimed title includes such tracks as “One Week Last Summer” (which received the 2008 GRAMMY® Award for Best Instrumental Pop Performance), and an updated version of Mitchell’s iconic 1970 track “Big Yellow Taxi.” More information here.

Hailed as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century, Joni will receive the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award at the 35th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), being held Saturday, January 18, 2020 in Anaheim, California. The award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation to honor individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in creative application of artistry in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor and musician, Les Paul. More information here.

The Barnes and Noble book store chain has selected MORNING GLORY ON THE VINE to be part of this year’s #BNSignedEditions selection for holiday. Copies of the book, hand-signed by Joni, will be at B&N stores and online starting Saturday, November 16.

For all concerned, know that Joni is safe and sound from the fire threatening the area.

I always dreamed of seeing my book in a bookstore window. This feels even better than I imagined.
- Joni Mitchell

Thank you, Book Soup in Los Angeles for this beautiful window display featuring Joni’s new book Morning Glory on the Vine.

In the image, taken on release day, you can see reflected in Book Soup’s window the old sign from Tower Records on Sunset—in that store over 40 years ago Joni had her first window display of an album. Photo courtesy of Hannah K. Johnson.

We saved the best review for last. Our official recap of the stunning Brandi Carlile performance of the entire Blue album on Monday night. Reviewer Sam Stone takes you there.

The Grammys' expansion of their definition of traditional pop resulted in a spike in the number of entries in its best traditional pop vocal album category, from 55 last year to 81 this year.

The expansion brought in such entries as the all-star Joni 75: A Joni Mitchell Birthday Celebration (Live), Barbra Streisand's Walls, Elvis Costello & the Imposters' Look Now and Bryan Ferry and his Orchestra's Bitter-Sweet. The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will be will be held January 26.

The ‘Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration’ album will be released on vinyl as part of the Record Store Day Black Friday celebrations in the US on November 29! The 2-LP set will be pressed in a limited edition of 3,000 copies and available from any participating local record retailer. A wider release will occur at a later date.

More information on Record Store Day Black Friday is here.

In 1971, as her album Blue topped charts around the world, Joni Mitchell crafted one hundred copies of Morning Glory on the Vine as a holiday gift for her closest friends. For this stunningly beautiful book, Joni hand-wrote an exquisite selection of her own lyrics and poems and illustrated them with more than thirty of her original paintings and watercolors. Hand-crafted, signed, and numbered in Los Angeles, the existing copies of this labor of love have rarely been seen in the past half-century.

Now, as Joni celebrates her seventy-sixth birthday, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings is available widely for the first time. In this faithfully reproduced facsimile edition, Joni's best-loved lyrics and poems spill across the pages in her own elegant script. More information here.

Jerry Lawson, who for four decades was the lead singer of the eclectic cult-favorite a cappella group the Persuasions, has died. He was 75. Lawson died Wednesday at a Phoenix hospice after a long illness, longtime friend and sometime Persuasions producer Rip Rense said.

Lawson's smooth baritone led the group of five and later six singers, who were revered as the "The Kings of a Cappella" by their small but devoted fan base. Through 25 albums the Persuasions recorded rock, blues, gospel and pop songs, all with no sound other than their own voices, long after the doo-wop era and long before the "Pitch Perfect" movies, when a cappella was rare. -Andrew Dalton

In October of 1967, Buffy Sainte Marie urged a young talent scout from the Chartoff-Winkler Agency to come listen to Joni perform at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City. Smitten immediately with her talent, the young man pitched being Joni's manager. "I don't need a manager, I'm doing quite nicely", Joni replied.

But he was a funny man, Joni enjoyed his humor, and before long he was managing Joni's career. And it was just a few months later, in March of 1968, that Elliot Roberts negotiated Joni's first record contract with Reprise Records.

Elliot managed Joni until 1985, and had just recently begun doing so again. A true legend in the music industry, Roberts also landed a record deal for Neil Young, co-managed CSN&Y, conceived the idea of Tom Petty backing Bob Dylan in the 1980s and helped launch the careers of Tracy Chapman and the Cars.

Born Elliot Rabinowitz on February 25th, 1943, Roberts was raised in the Bronx and initially hoped for a basketball career before turning to music. Elliot died this morning at age 76.

Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., known around the world as Dr. John, initially aspired to be a professional songwriter, producer and sideman. He wanted to work behind the scenes, not out front. But after assuming the persona of Dr. John the Night Tripper in the late 1960s, Rebennack was behind the scenes no more.

His idiosyncratic style and sound – the gravelly growl, the sly, deceptively leisurely phrasing, the original hipster patois, the hybrid Big Easy piano – embodied New Orleans and its music. Rebennack, an icon of the city who remained an active creative force until he abruptly disappeared from public view 18 months ago, died Thursday of a heart attack after years of declining health. He was 77. -Keith Spera

Joni and Dr. John appeared on the same stage at the legendary Last Waltz concert in 1976. And, on her 35th birthday Joni attended a Dr. John concert at the Bottom Line in NYC (pictured), in which he sang happy birthday to her from the stage.

Dr John sings to Joni

Elizabeth “Betsy” Asher, a music industry insider and self-described political news junkie, died Dec. 18, 2018 in Los Angeles. She was 75. She was born April 9, 1943 on Parris Island, SC to Paul Burney Doster and Elizabeth Fredrickson.

Betsy worked in the coffee houses of New York’s Greenwich Village and as a publicist before moving to London. By the time she relocated to L.A., the musicians and songwriters she had known in the Village had become household names in rock music. Journalists and biographers often sought Betsy’s unique perspective on the career arc of some of the most iconic musical artists of the last century.

Betsy is referenced by Joni in Song for Sharon, and perhaps Moon at the Window as well.

A feature-length documentary, Laurel Canyon, is set to premiere later this year. The film, according to a press release, “will pull back the curtain on a mythical world and provide an up-close look at the lives of the musicians who inhabited it.” Alison Ellwood (History of the Eagles) will direct; the film will premiere later this year on EPIX.

Among the artists who will be featured are Joni, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, the Mamas and the Papas, Carole King, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, James Taylor, the Doors, Frank Zappa and more. More information here.

In 1971, as her album Blue topped charts around the world, Joni Mitchell crafted one hundred copies of Morning Glory on the Vine as a holiday gift for her closest friends (see original book). For this stunningly beautiful book, Joni hand-wrote an exquisite selection of her own lyrics and poems and illustrated them with more than thirty of her original paintings and watercolors. Hand-crafted, signed, and numbered in Los Angeles, the existing copies of this labor of love have rarely been seen in the past half-century.

Now, as Joni celebrates her seventy-fifth birthday, Morning Glory on the Vine: Early Songs and Drawings is available widely for the first time. In this faithfully reproduced facsimile edition, Joni's best-loved lyrics and poems spill across the pages in her own elegant script. The lively, full-color watercolor paintings depict a superb array of landscapes, still-lifes, portraits of friends, self portraits, innovative abstractions, and more. All the paintings from the original book are included, along with several additional works that Joni had intended to include for her friends in 1971. Finally, the refreshed volume features an original introduction written by Joni herself. Morning Glory on the Vine is a gorgeous and intimate keepsake and an invitation to explore anew the dazzling, visionary world of Joni Mitchell. More information here.

In Joni 75, artists gather to celebrate Joni's 75th birthday. The lineup features Brandi Carlile; Glen Hansard; Emmylou Harris; Norah Jones; Chaka Khan; Diana Krall; Kris Kristofferson; Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Cesar Castro and Xochi Flores; Graham Nash; Seal; James Taylor; and Rufus Wainwright. Presented by The Music Center at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the Joni 75 concerts were recorded November 6 and 7, 2018, with musical arrangements by co-musical directors Brian Blade and Jon Cowherd. Premieres nationwide beginning March 2 on PBS. Check local listings here.

Musicians! The transcription team is expanding its reach. If you are a guitarist, a pianist, a bass player, or just someone who loves Joni's music - you can now follow the team and learn about the magic behind Joni's music.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, RHINO is giving away a copy of Joni Mitchell's LOVE HAS MANY FACES on vinyl and one hardcover copy of Joni - The Joni Mitchell Sessions book by Norman Seeff. The limited-edition, 8LP boxed set is presented in a hard-bound deluxe folio package. Limited to 5,000 individually numbered copies, it includes 53 songs on eight 180-gram LPs. Etchings of Mitchell’s artwork are featured on four individual album sides, each one signifying the end of an act in the ballet. Enter to win!

The International Folk Music Awards (IFMAs) was held tonight at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal, Canada. The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented each year during the annual event. Recipients are determined by the voting members of Folk Alliance International and are presented to a living recipient (Joni), a memorial recipient (Leonard Cohen), and an organization or recognized academic (fRoots Magazine). Joni was not in attendance and long-time friend Eric Andersen agreed to accept the award for her. Eric got stuck on a snowbound train attempting to get to the event, and texted them his acceptance comments. They agreed to read it, but didn't do so.

"I am happy to say that Joni is very grateful to receive this important award and proud as a Canadian to receive it here in this sacred city. She's sorry she can't be here to see everyone and accept it personally. To most of us, she remains the flower in the desert who could always find the truth on other people's lies and beauty in the wreckage. She remains a warrior with a stubborn streak and unrelenting stamina who could drink a case of anyone and still be on her feet!--Thank you with open hearts."

See the video that Folk Alliance International created for the event.

Good news for global Joni fans! The Joni 75 movie will be coming to theaters outside of the US on March 21st - tickets go on sale February 21. The film also premieres on the small screen nationwide in the USA beginning March 2 on PBS (check local listings). Streams beginning March 3 via PBS Passport and PBS apps. More details as we get them.

Joni made a rare public appearance last night at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammys gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Clive introduced her to the crowd, saying "I'm so touched that she comes to share the night with all of us, please welcome the inimitable Joni Mitchell." The star-studded party was attended by Nancy Pelosi, Alice Cooper, Barbra Streisand, Caitlin Jenner, Tim Cook, Brandi Carlile, Sammy Hagar, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Lou Adler and many more!

The upcoming March issue MOJO magazine celebrates Joni over 22 pages, with a classic in-depth interview, plus rare pics and insights and a 15-track CD of Joni songs and artists, featuring Julia Holter, Frazey Ford, Nadia Reid, Case/Lang/Veirs, Sun Kil Moon, Tomberlin, Wendy & Lisa and more. Pick one up in your local bookstore or get a copy delivered to your home.

Rhino Records will be releasing Joni's album "Blue" on... you guessed it... blue vinyl on January 22. Limited to 6,000 copies! More information here.

The 120-minute 'Joni 75' performance will show one night only - February 7 - in 350-400 theaters across the USA. Details are sketchy but we'll post more here as they come to light.

Norman Seeff's long-awaited book, the extraordinary collection of photographs entitled "Joni: The Joni Mitchell Sessions" is being shipped this week. It is a creative partnership that has lasted for over 40 years. Joni and Norman Seeff, a rock-and-roll photographer with a host of legendary subjects in his portfolio, did some of their best work together. Through over a dozen sessions with Joni, Norman captured the many facets of her personality in some of her most famous images.

Available through Norman's website are 2 versions of the book:

The Premium Edition:
-An 11x14 inch print.
-Password protected access to Seeff’s library of filmed sessions featuring multiple artists exploring Joni as the Boundary Dweller and innovative Artist.
-Seeff’s 7-Stage road map of the Boundary Dweller Archetype as exemplified by Joni. This schematic serves as a tool to empower personal creativity.

The Collectors Edition:
-A signed copy of the book inside a slipcase
-original limited edition signed 11x14 inch print
-A 30x40 inch signed lithographic poster
-Access to Seeff’s video library and his 7-Stage road map as described above

The standard edition, without any of the above features, is available through Amazon and other booksellers starting on December 18th.

The saga of Woody, Buzz and the gang continues. Disney and Pixar released the first trailer to "Toy Story 4." The dreamy teaser features everyone's favorite toys floating through the air. The sequence is set to "Both Sides Now."

Followers of the radio show "Live From Here" will notice that Chris Thile and friends saluted Joni on yesterday's show with a rendition of "Help Me." It begins at 1:25:19

The beautiful 11x14 inch hardcover version of Norman Seeff's book, currently available for pre-orders at $60, will increase to the retail price of $75 on October 24. The signed version will remain at $100 & the Collectors Edition at $650 and Seeff will add a personalized greeting for those who order either of these versions via the website and provide the name(s) for the greeting.

For all you completists out there, Joni's most recent compilation "Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced" is being released as a 180-gram 8LP vinyl box set. See more information here.

The Music Center has added James Taylor and Brandi Carlile to the previously announced line-up of singers and musicians who will honor Joni Mitchell on her 75th birthday as part of JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration Live at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on November 6 and 7. A limited number of additional tickets have been released and are going fast.

James Taylor and Brandi Carlile will join Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Diana Krall, Kris Kristofferson, Los Lobos, Graham Nash, Seal, and Rufus Wainwright to perform songs from Mitchell’s prolific career. Co-musical directors providing the musical arrangements for the evenings are drummer Brian Blade, who recorded three studio albums and toured extensively with Mitchell, and, pianist, composer, arranger producer Jon Cowherd.

In August of 1969, a dairy farm in the state of New York hosted a pivotal moment in the history of pop music. Taking place only two years after the "Summer of Love” and one year after the tumultuous events of 1968, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair put an exclamation point on the transformational decade of the 1960s.

Joni did not attend Woodstock, but her song of the same name captures an opposition inherent to the turbulent and divisive era. “We are stardust...caught in the devil’s bargain, ...and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”

For the 50th anniversary of this event, join us at Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee for a campus-wide celebration featuring concerts, clinics, exhibits, films, and speakers.

We are currently accepting submissions for symposium speaker proposals. The committee hopes that Mitchell's evocative lyrics inspire a similarly wide-ranging set of proposals. For more information, see the Call for Papers.

Max Bennett's first professional gig was in 1949, and throughout his long career he played with such legends as Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, George Harrison, Joan Baez, Joni, and many more. Max is often associated with the famous 'Wrecking Crew', a loose collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles whose services were employed for thousands of studio recordings in the 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1973, Bennett, along with Tom Scott, founded the L.A. Express which served as the core band for Joni's Court and Spark album. A subsequent iteration of the group backed Joni on her 1974 tour which spawned the live Miles of Aisles album.

Max Bennett was 90 years old. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

After many months with a team scanning & editing thousands of images, refining his selections, designing layouts and writing the text, Norman Seeff has now completed a book that celebrates Joni and their working relationship over 12 photo-sessions from 1972-1985. Their collaboration on albums, magazine covers and performance pieces reveal Joni’s fluid identity as a true artist in ways that few have managed to capture, before or since.

The book is timed for release in November 2018, in conjunction with a series of concerts celebrating Joni's 75th birthday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Norman is thrilled to make the book, a high quality lithographic poster and a new series of Limited Edition prints available via his own e-commerce store. It should be mentioned that this link (and the LA concerts) will be the first opportunity to get the book, and that this link offers many items that places such as Amazon will not have available.

Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography will be released on September 25. "Folk hero. Songwriter icon. Living legend. Buffy Sainte-Marie is all of these things and more. In this, Sainte-Marie's first and only authorized biography, music critic Andrea Warner draws from more than sixty hours of exclusive interviews to offer a powerful, intimate look at the life of the beloved artist and everything that she has accomplished in her seventy-seven years (and counting)." Joni has written the Foreword for the book, saying "whenever Buffy came to town I went down to the coffee house to hear her play. Her songs were so smart, so well-crafted, and her performances were stunning."

Today The Music Center announces two star-studded concerts, JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration Live at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on November 6 and November 7, 2018, featuring an incredible array of singers and musicians who will honor one of the world’s most remarkable artists, Joni Mitchell, on her 75th birthday. On both nights, Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Diana Krall, Kris Kristofferson, Los Lobos, Graham Nash, Seal, and Rufus Wainwright, will perform songs from all stages of Mitchell’s life and career, across the entire oeuvre of her 19 studio albums. Co-musical directors, providing the musical arrangements for the evenings, are percussionist Brian Blade and pianist, composer, arranger, producer Jon Cowherd. Buy tickets now.

Following the second concert, on November 7, 2018, The Music Center will salute Mitchell on her birthday with The Music Center’s Soirée: JONI 75, a special celebration for her and a fundraiser for The Music Center’s artistic programming.

Read the full press release here.

Rolling Stone reports that "live performances by Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, recorded at a student ministry on the University of Michigan campus in 1968, were among the professional-quality recordings unearthed by the Michigan History Project.

"Seven-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes featuring concerts by Tim Buckley, Odetta, David Ackles and Dave Van Ronk were also among the recordings made at the Canterbury House, an Ann Arbor, Michigan venue that hosted counterculture events in the mid to late-Sixties.

Joni performed at the Canterbury House on March 8, 9, and 10 in 1968. It's unclear as to which concert(s) have been found. Before the weekend of performances, someone scrawled across the advertisement "God is alive in Joni Mitchell".

"The Michigan History Project recently acquired the recordings, with the non-profit organization now seeking a record label interested in releasing the concerts."

More information here.

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto will feature a 6-part lecture series on Joni. Dr. Mike Daley tells Joni’s story in detail, exploring her Alberta and Saskatchewan upbringing, her early years in Toronto's burgeoning folk scene, her musical partnerships, and the romantic affairs and marriages that inspired some of her unforgettable compositions. He’ll examine the fascinating life and career of a Canadian icon.

Led by Dr. Mike Daley (Leonard Cohen: Words and Music, The Beatles and their World, Bob Dylan: Words and Music), a music historian and professional musician who has taught at Guelph, McMaster, Waterloo and York Universities.

October 15: Early years in Canada
October 22: Joni's breakthrough
October 29: Rock stardom
November 12: Jazz explorations
November 19: Navigating the changing pop landscape
November 26: Final works and legacy projects

More information here

In 1970 the Isle of Wight Festival was one of the largest musical events of its time. Bigger than Woodstock, and controversial from the get-go, hundreds of thousands of people descended on the island. Many of those without tickets set up camp on a hill overlooking the festival site, opposing the consumerism of the event and intent on taking the music back by any means necessary. It was a celebration of hippy counter culture gone awry, and in Joni's words "they fed me to the beast". Joni took to the stage to deliver an outstanding performance against all odds. At times it was a battle against the audience, as they tore down barriers and shouted obscenities. Her set was interrupted multiple times, including one man invading the stage to try address the crowd.

Directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker Murray Lerner, Both Sides Now: Live At The Isle of Wight Festival features new interviews with Joni, discussing her recollections of the event intercut with festival footage, both onstage and behind the scenes, offering a fascinating insight into a now legendary concert from the artists point of view and putting the events of the day into context. The disc will be released on September 14, 2018

'Joni Mitchell: The Norman Seeff Sessions' is a new photo book to be published on November 6. Timed to release on Joni's 75th birthday, this collection of familiar and rare imagery tracks the pair's history together through these exclusive moments captured on film. A combination of album artwork and candid shots reveals Joni's personality in ways few have managed to capture before or since. Featuring commentary from Seeff on the enlightenment into his art that he gained from their sessions, this compilation is a true reflection on mutual creativity between artist and muse.

Tourism Saskatoon plans a live feed of the festivities on Sunday, we will link to the video here. Stay tuned for more information!

Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot do a classic album dissection of Blue on today's episode of "Sound Opinions" from WBEZ-FM in Chicago, sharing the context of the record, exploring its lasting impact and looking in depth at its impressive track list. Listen here

On June 10th, two official installations will be unveiled that will provide permanent recognition to Joni Mitchell’s legacy and recognize Saskatoon as her hometown during her formative years. As part of this dual ceremony taking place that day, the public is invited to gather in front of the Broadway Theatre at 1:30pm to witness the unveiling of a plaque, then walk along the Broadway Bridge to River Landing to officially designate the promenade located between 2nd and 3rd Avenue at 2:30 pm as Joni Mitchell Promenade.

As a twist on “Random Acts of Kindness” Tourism Saskatoon invites all people to create and express themselves in “Random Acts of Culture” to recognize, celebrate, and animate the afternoon and pay homage to Ms. Mitchell as a creative force. Our intention is to create a free space for all people to share the strength and breadth of the Saskatoon arts community and express themselves through art. We invite anyone from the community with a passion for the arts to entertain the procession of people as they travel between the two points in any way they see fit - from singing songs, playing music, reading poetry, painting, dancing, and in general making the city come alive with everything short of “moons and Junes and Ferris wheels.”

A tribute to Joni will be held June 10 starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Broadway Theatre. At the event, a plaque will be unveiled in honour of the Louis Riel Coffee House — the Broadway Avenue café where Joni played her first paid gig.

From there, people are invited to walk a route Mitchell often travelled herself while growing up in Saskatoon through the mid-’50s and early ’60s: down Broadway Avenue heading across the Broadway Bridge and over to River Landing.

At 2:30 p.m., a ceremony will be held to name the riverfront pathway along the south side of Spadina Crescent East between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue the “Joni Mitchell Promenade.” Joni will be unable to travel to Saskatoon for the ceremony, but has said she feels honoured by the city’s gesture.

Official Press Release:

Saskatoon City Council announced today it will be naming a walkway along River Landing in recognition of the accomplishments of Joni Mitchell. Joni Mitchell Promenade will be located on the south side of Spadina Crescent East between Second and Third Avenues South.

The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) will also be honouring Ms. Mitchell by awarding her an honorary degree on Monday June 4, 2018. Mitchell will be the first of eight outstanding honorary degree recipients that the U of S will be announcing tomorrow.

On Sunday June 10, 2018 there will be a public unveiling ceremony of the Joni Mitchell Promenade and a plaque on Broadway Avenue acknowledging the Louis Riel Coffee House where she used to play. Details of the ceremony and other events, including a live performance component, will be announced shortly by Tourism Saskatoon.

Read the full press release here.

Saskatoon Councillor Ann Iwanchuk will seek support next week for her proposal to name the promenade at River Landing in Saskatoon for Joni. City council and others in the community have struggled for years to find a suitable way to honour her. If approved by council, the designation would apply to the stretch of walkway next to Spadina Crescent from Second Avenue to Third Avenue. The section of walkway lies directly south of a condo-hotel-office development on a plot of land known as Parcel Y, and leads to Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.

Artist Gary Burden, who played a significant role in composing some of the most iconic album covers of our time, has passed away at 84 years old. Joni fans may be surprised to learn that he designed the cover to the album Blue. "This was such an honour for me" he said, "that is the only cover of Joni’s that she didn’t make herself and I got to make it. I knew the title was Blue and what I wanted to do was to make it look like old Ferro cyanotype from the 1880s, which was this blue colour, and I figured out how to make it look like that."

The first in the Alberta Ballet's series of portrait ballets, The Fiddle and The Drum, dedicated to Joni, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a tour. Created with input from Joni herself, The Fiddle and the Drum offers a contemporary interpretation of 14 of her songs, including three that were written for the piece. Performances are May 1-4 in Calgary, and May 9-11 in Edmonton. More information here

3rd Avenue in Saskatoon is decked out today with a series of street posters in honor of Joni. Tonight, the Saskatoon Symphony is honoring Joni with a concert of her music featuring Vince Mendoza, Sarah Slean, and Peter Erskine. Stay tuned for a review of this amazing evening on JoniMitchell.com in the coming days. (Photos by Mike Sainsbury)

Joni graces the cover of the newest edition of UNCUT - the UK music magazine - released today. "50 years after the release of her debut album, Uncut tells the full story of the singer, songwriter and guitarist’s remarkable rise to fame – from the Newport Folk Festival, via New York clubs to the hillside cottages of Laurel Canyon. 'She was stunningly good, right off the bat,' says David Crosby." For those who can't find it in stores, the digital edition is available.

The cover of Susan Whitall's new book "Joni on Joni: Interviews and Encounters with Joni Mitchell" has been revealed. The book will be released on November 6, the day before Joni's 75th birthday. We'll keep you posted!

In December 2015, the Smithsonian called on rock and roll lovers around the world to collect photos and stories of their favorite moments in music. Fans dug through attics, basements, closets, shoeboxes, digital cameras, and photo albums to contribute. Artists ranging from the Who to Nirvana to Chuck Berry to the Jimi Hendrix and many more are celebrated in the resulting book entitled "Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen". There is a photo of Joni included in the book taken by Jim Marshall that we had not seen before!

Verve and UMe will reissue Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters for its 10th anniversary this Friday, December 15. The original album, mostly featuring songs of Joni Mitchell, will be paired with a bonus EP of four additional recordings from the sessions. Two of them – covers of “A Case of You” and “All I Want” – were previously only available on an Amazon-exclusive pressing of the album, while the other pair, “Harlem In Havana” and “I Had a King,” were exclusive to iTunes. More information here.

The multiple fires threatening southern California have forced nearly 200,000 people in the Los Angeles and Ventura areas to evacuate. Those concerned about Joni can rest assured that she is safe and out of harm's way.

Jon Hendricks, a jazz singer who became famous in the 1950s with the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross by putting lyrics to well-known jazz instrumentals and turning them into vocal tours de force, died today in New York City. He was 96. Joni often cites the group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross as a major early influence. Joni recorded their song Twisted on Court and Spark, the first song not written by herself that she released on one of her albums.

In a 1986 interview, Joni said "Friends of mine who were older than me and in college began talking about Lambert, Hendricks and Ross as the hottest new sound in jazz. Their record flipped me out, but it was already out of print. I had to finally buy it off somebody and pay a lot, maybe fifteen dollars, which was unheard of at that time. But you couldn't get the record anywhere. Lambert, Hendricks and Ross were my Beatles. In high school, theirs was the record I wore thin, the one I knew all the words to."

Susan Whitall, former Creem editor and Detroit News staffer for 30 years, will be releasing a new book called "Joni on Joni: Interviews and Encounters with Joni Mitchell" to be published by the Chicago Review Press in time for Joni's 75th birthday (November 2018). This book will be a compilation of interviews with Joni throughout the years. Susan told JoniMitchell.com "I don't think there have been enough books on Joni, not when you think of how many have been written about Dylan, or the Beatles." We agree. We're making space on our bookshelf. More info here as we get it.

Happy 74th birthday to Joni on the 7th! Leave your birthday greetings for her at WeLoveYouJoni.com. And the seasons, they go round and round...