Joni Mitchell led a Joni Jam session onstage at the Hollywood Bowl over the weekend — but also backstage. On Tuesday, Brandi Carlile shared a video of numerous stars, including Mitchell, Lucy Dacus, Chappell Roan, and Elton John himself, singing along to the Rocket Man’s “I’m Still Standing.”
Tim Hanseroth, Blake Mills, and Allison Russell also joined Roan, Dacus, and John. They clapped along and played guitar to the classic 1983 song. In the video, Mitchell could be seen dancing with her cane, as Roan and Carlile snapped their fingers.
“Backstage antics at the Hollywood Bowl,” Carlile captioned the post.
“Pickin’ up the pieces of my life without you on my mind,” John could be heard singing the classic lyrics with the other stars backing him up. Carlile also shared a photo of herself with Dacus, Roan, John, and Mitchell with the silly caption: “@jonimitchell with the full backing of the gay mafia.”
Before the photo and backstage jam session, Mitchell headlined the Hollywood Bowl, bringing out myriad celebrities and musicians, including Meryl Streep, Jon Batiste, Jacob Collier, Lisa Coleman, and Rita Wilson.
During the second set of her performance, she welcomed Marcus Mumford for a duet of “California,” Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox for “Ladies of the Canyon,” and John for a “Joni version” of “I’m Still Standing.” Among her hits performed were “Dog Eat Dog,” “If,” “Both Sides, Now,” and “The Circle Game.”
Following the weekend show, Carlile also shared a lengthy post celebrating the life and career of “our beloved” Joni Mitchell, as she celebrated Mitchell’s band and how they’ve “exceeded any expectation of what it means to truly love an artist.”
“She’s re-learned to play her guitar and her piano. She can paint and dance and, as we all now know — she can SING,” wrote Carlile. “What a gift it has been for me to be allowed to sing with her in these re-emergent, precious, and vulnerable years. In everything I do from now on, I will try to remain worthy of the trust I earned from Joni.”
