Joni Mitchell News

Singer-songwriter, actress and producer Rita Wilson makes her return to Cafe Carlyle, October 16-20 with Rita Wilson: Liner Notes.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents "Peace Songs" on November 16th, 2018 at 11:30pm. Come join some of Broadway's brightest stars for an evening of music with a single message: peace. With classic tunes from Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell, and plenty of contemporary tunes and show tunes mixed in, join us for an evening of positivity and possibility.

Throughout her spectacular career, singer, songwriter, and Broadway actress Morgan James has taken on beloved roles and songs to give them her unique perspective and make them her own. She rocked the stage as Christ herself in an all-female version of Jesus Christ Superstar, took on a full-album acoustic cover of D'Angelo's Black Messiah, and brought the critics to their feet with her cover of Joni Mitchell's classic Blue album.

Singer-songwriter, actress and producer Rita Wilson makes her return to Cafe Carlyle, October 16-20 with Rita Wilson: Liner Notes. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote of her debut residency: '[If you] closed your eyes at certain moments you could imagine you were cruising down a Southern California highway in the early 1970s. Sandwiched between the music of Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne on the car radio was a promising new voice whose sound fit right in with theirs.' Rita Wilson's forthcoming residency will go 'behind the music' to discover stories leading to songs that have become the soundtrack to so many lives. The performances will include friends who just happen to have written some of the most memorable songs of this century and last - for fascinating revelations about how their creations came to be.

Singer/songwriter and five-time Grammy Award winner Michael McDonald's new holiday compilation, Season of Peace: The Christmas Collection, is out now via BMG. The album features McDonald's most beloved Christmas recordings including “White Christmas/Winter Wonderland” (feat. Jonny Lang), “Oh Holy Night,” “Christmas on the Bayou” and “Children Go Where I Send Thee” (feat. Twinkie Clark), as well as a new version of “Winter Wonderland” featuring special guest Jake Shimabukuro. The album art hails from an original painting by McDonald himself; see below for a complete track list.

Acclaimed jazz singer Nicole Henry brings new life to classic holiday repertoire with her soul-inspired Christmas show on Friday, November 30 at 8 p.m. at Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu. 

On Friday, November 16, three groundbreaking contemporary dance companies perform on the Auditorium Theatre's landmark stage in the "Made in Chicago" 312 Dance Series. The evening features Ate9 Dance Company, performing the work calling glenn with live music from Chicago-based percussionist Glenn Kotche (Wilco); Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, performing Kevin Iega Jeff's Church of Nations, Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott's Heaven, and Nicole Clarke-Springer's Until Lambs Become Lions; and Visceral Dance Chicago, performing company founder Nick Pupillo's Soft Spoken.

Detroit born, LA based, prolific singer/songwriter Jesse Palter releases debut EP The Paper Trail October 22 on Artistry Music, featuring five tracks of aggressive, piano-pounding pop/rock in the vein of Carole King, Sarah McLachlan and Sara Bareilles. The first single going to radio is 'Heavy Is The Crown,' an edgy, incisive pop-rocker examining narcisscism and victim-hood at is best.

Recognized by the world not only for their bold-face names, but especially by their superb talents, New Jersey Performing Arts Center's seventh annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival (November 4-18) is packed with performances by today's most listened-to luminaries on the jazz scene. NJPAC Jazz Advisor, six-time Grammy winner Christian McBride says, 'I'm beyond excited to announce the seventh annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival at NJPAC. It's gonna be a good one, baby. There's something very, very special about jazz vocalists, and we're committed to making sure the legacy of jazz vocals is alive and thriving. This year we'll present the world's finest singers, from Dianne Reeves and Gregory Porter to Cecile McLorin Salvant and Lalah Hathaway, and will continue to search for the next greats through the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition -- the SASSY Awards -- which is always a huge hit.'

With these liner notes, celebrated author Michael Barclay entrenches the enormous musical history of Toronto's Massey Hall. His words set the stage for a monumental new vinyl release series that captures the fascinating evolution of the venerated concert venue, a room that has housed timeless performances by everyone from Joni Mitchell to Glenn Gould since opening its doors in 1894.

Jim Messina's legacy spans five decades and three acclaimed rock super groups: Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield, and Poco. And he's had a vibrant solo career, plus a dizzying array of producing and engineering credits for such luminaries as The Doors, Joni Mitchell, and Herb Alpert. Performing with his band in Folsom, the concert will include songs we all know and love, from across his storied career. Get ready for "…a splendid good-timey sensibility and professionalism" (Los Angeles Times).

The legendary Rufus and Martha Wainwright Christmas show, "Noel Nights," is returning to New York City after a four-year hiatus. Featuring three generations of the Wainwright and McGarrigle families, along with many other special guests, this annual holiday extravaganza will bring the Christmas spirit to Town Hall on Sunday, December 16th.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has announced the release of How We React and How We Recover, the new album from three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, on physical CD online and in stores today, Friday, September 28.

The Music Center has added James Taylor, Brandi Carlile and Scarlet Rivera to the previously announced powerful 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, 2018.  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.  Scarlet Riverawill be a featured guest member of the band.  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.  The Music Center's Artistic Advisor Jorn Weisbrodt is the creator of the two evenings, and Danny Kapilian is the music producer. 

Adelaide singer and cabaret artist Mel McCaig will premiere her first solo show, Gifts from the King, on 16 and 17 November at Holden Street Theatres as part of the 2018 Feast Festival.

Due to popular demand, second performances have been added for Private Peaceful, Songs of Freedom, and Teatro Linea de Sombra's Amarillo. Tickets and subscriptions for Essential Series performances are available at texasperformingarts.org.

It was like an entertaining musical mash-up tour of the Tony Award Winner's charmed life, and I didn't want it to end.

Did you miss WINTER SONG at Portland Center Stage last holiday season? Not to worry -- Merideth Kaye Clark and Brandon Woolley, the show's creators have recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the concept album.

Katharine Mehrling, one of the great leading ladies of musical theatre in Europe today, brings her celebrated concert to Joe's Pub in New York City on September 22, 2018 at 7PM.  For tickets go to https://joespub.publictheater.org/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/Joes-Pub/2018/K/Katharine-Mehrling/?SiteTheme=JoesPub