Joni Mitchell will be honored by James Taylor, Graham Nash, Brandi Carlile at MusiCares in January
An eclectic lineup of artists spanning Herbie Hancock, Pentatonix, Mickey Guyton and James Taylor will honor Joni Mitchell as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year in January.
The Canadian songstress’ legacy will be toasted with performances from Graham Nash, her romantic partner and musical sounding board for two years in the late ‘60s, and Brandi Carlile, an unabashed Mitchell devotee who has presented Mitchell’s iconic “Blue” album in its entirety in recent years to audiences in Los Angeles and New York.
The annual event will be held two nights before the Grammy Awards on Jan. 29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Other artists joining the celebration include Leon Bridges, Black Pumas, Maggie Rogers and leading Grammy nominee Jon Batiste, who, with Carlile, will serve as artistic directors for the show.
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Mitchell, an eight-time Grammy winner and 16-time nominee, will be recognized for “not only her iconic music and lyrics, but for her trailblazing spirit and the inspiration she’s brought to so many artists,” said Laura Segura, executive director of MusiCares. “We are crafting a once-in-a-lifetime evening in honor of Joni."
In 2015, the lauded singer-songwriter, 78, suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke and though she’s recovered, she now walks with a cane.
Mitchell was recently christened as a 2021 inductee for the 44th Kennedy Center Honors. The event, which airs at 9 p.m. Dec. 22 on CBS, enlisted artists including Norah Jones (“The Circle Game”), Brittany Howard (“Both Sides Now”) and Carlile (“River”) to pay tribute to Mitchell’s oeuvre in song, as well as Nash to narrate a video montage of Mitchell’s life.
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On the red carpet before the ceremony, Judy Collins, who recorded the first version of Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” in 1967, said the two have remained “friends along the way.” “She’s brought so much beauty into the world,” Collins said.
MusiCares is the foundation of the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys, that provides health and human services aid such as emergency financial assistance, medical expenses and treatment for critical illnesses to members of the music community. Since March 2020, the organization also supplied $24 million in COVID-19 relief to music professionals affected by the disruption to the industry.