Joni Mitchell delights fans with 1st full set in more than 20 years

The surprise show was the first time the Canadian folk legend has performed in nine years and her first full concert set in more than 20 years.

Canadian music icon Joni Mitchell surprised fans with her first complete show in more than 20 years, when she took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival over the weekend.

Mitchell, 78, appeared alongside folk singer Brandi Carlile Sunday night at the Rhode Island festival, performing some of her top hits and even treating the crowd to a guitar solo.

Mitchell and Carlile looked like the rock royalty they are as they perched in two ornate white chairs with gilded gold trim, belting out a 13-song tribute set performed in Mitchell’s honour.

Mitchell has largely been retired from music since she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015. But Carlile told CBS This Morning she was on a mission to convince the folk music legend to get back up on stage.

“I just pictured her up there, the water, the fort, and the boats…,” Carlile explained.

Despite being a prolific musician, Mitchell revealed she had hesitations about getting back up on stage — she hasn’t performed live since 2013.

She told CBS that although she’s “never been nervous” about a performance she “wanted it to be good. … I wasn’t sure it would be.” She said she was pleased with how things went and said “it didn’t sound so bad.”