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Joni Mitchell unleashed a brief but clear attack on Donald Trump at her first Los Angeles show in 28 years.
The legendary singer-songwriter, 80, performed at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 19 and 20, joined by members of a rotating backing band known as Johnny Jam — including Brandi Carlyle, Annie Lennox, Marcus Mumford, Alison Russell. , Fleet Foxes’ Robin Reignold and Rita Wilson.
In a 27-track setlist that included “Big Yellow Taxi,” “California,” “A Case of You,” “Both Sides, Now” and more, the group performed several songs that Mitchell hadn’t played in years. Cover of “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John.
Mitchell previously covered the Elton John/Bernie Taubin standard when the songwriting duo was honored with the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize.
After singing “Dog Eat Dog” on Saturday (October 19), an audience member chanted against Trump.
Billboard Reports say Mitchell replied: “‘F*** Donald Trump’, I love that song.” He later added: “I want to vote… I’m a Canadian. I’m one of those ugly immigrants.
Carlyle, addressing an audience of 17,000, said, “To serve Joni’s ambition tonight is one of the proudest moments in all of our lives.” LA Times.
Mitchell returned to live performances in 2015 after suffering a brain aneurysm that left him temporarily unable to speak or walk.
After years out of the public eye, he stunned the world when he made an unannounced return to the stage at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022, followed by an official headline show at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater last June.
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During his first Hollywood Bowl performance, Carlyle revealed that Joni Jams, held in Mitchell’s own living room “five or six years ago,” helped heal the veteran artist.
Friends and fellow musicians initially came to visit Mitchell and sang her own songs — and then she started singing along from her couch.
Mitchell said she was “honored” to have Carlyle as a friend and credited her with bringing her out of her “retirement.”
Trump has come under fire from several high-profile artists as he continues his campaign for the US presidency.
Canadian folk artist Rufus Wainwright called out the Republican candidate last week after he played a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” during a chaotic town hall event.
Wainwright, a version of “Hallelujah” was released in 2001 as part of the soundtrack for the animated film. ShrekThe song is “an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of truth. I have been very proud over the years to be associated with this endurance.
“To see Trump and his supporters speak to this music last night was the height of blasphemy,” he said.
Elsewhere over the weekend, the daughter of late golf legend Arnold Palmer responded to Trump’s nasty comments about her father.
