Allison Russell, St. Vincent, Beck to Lead Joni Mitchell Tributes for MusiCares Gala

Graham Nash, Cyndi Lauper, Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Billy Porter, Sara Bareilles and more will also cover Mitchell's material

Photo: Zackery Michael (centre)

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Mar 17, 2022

Beloved national treasure Joni Mitchell was named MusiCares Person of the Year for 2022 last August, and now the foundation has announced a star-studded list of acclaimed performers to pay tribute to her at the 31st annual gala this April — including Allison Russell, St. Vincent, Beck, Graham Nash, Leon Bridges and more.

Helmed by the night's artistic directors Brandi Carlile and Jon Batiste, a total of 18 artists — all of whom have been recognized with Grammy wins and nominations — will honour the icon by covering her material. There are performances slated from Cyndi Lauper, Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Billy Porter, Sara BareillesBlack Pumas, Lauren Daigle, Mickey Guyton, Angélique Kidjo, Pentatonix and Stephen Stills, with Graham Nash set to join the evening from afar via a remote performance [as per Variety].

The MusiCares gala was originally scheduled to take place in late January at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, but has been pushed to April 1 — two nights ahead of the Grammys — in light of the proliferation of the Omicron variant. Two artists who had previously been booked to partake in performing selections from Mitchell's catalogue, James Taylor and Maggie Rogers, are now unable to attend due to conflicts with the rescheduled date. The event is now taking place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Conference Center.

"We're excited to honour Joni together, in-person, as a music community and can't wait to bring this great event to Las Vegas," MusiCares' executive director Laura Segura said in a statement. "We will be celebrating with a purpose, toasting one of music's greatest songwriters and musicians, while raising vital funds to address the critical health and social service needs of the music community."

The MusiCares nonprofit was founded in 1989 and has since distributed more than $48 million to artists in need, with their Person of the Year honour celebrating a musician of both exceptional artistic achievement and dedication to philanthropy.

Tickets to the benefit are on sale here, starting at $2,500 USD per person. Proceeds will support the organization's mission of helping members of the music community in crisis.

After standing with Neil Young and pulling her music from Spotify, Mitchell has been given her own SiriusXM radio channel in celebration of her Person of the Year title. In 2021, she also became one of the first Canadians to receive Kennedy Center Honors and offered a rare health update at the ceremony.

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