The first batch of artists set to perform at the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Joni Mitchell range from longtime friends and colleagues, such as Graham Nash, James Taylor and Herbie Hancock, to younger singer/songwriters, including Brandi Carlile, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers and Mickey Guyton.
The initial roster of performers, announced Thursday (Dec. 16), also includes Jon Batiste, who is this year’s top Grammy nominee with 11 nods, triple Grammy winners Pentatonix and four-time nominees Black Pumas.
Carlile and Batiste will serve as artistic directors, a first for the Person of the Year concert. Mike Elizondo, who won a Grammy for co-producing Switchfoot’s 2009 album Hello Hurricane, will serve as music director.
The event will be held on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, two nights before the 64th annual Grammy Awards. It will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will include a reception and silent auction, followed by a dinner and tribute concert.
The gala will be produced by live event broadcast company Lewis & Clark, headed by Joe Lewis and R.A. Clark.
Several of the performers, including Taylor, Nash and Carlile, performed at “Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration,” which was held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles in November 2018.
Carlile also performed when Mitchell received the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month. She sang “River,” as she did at a Carnegie Hall concert where she sang Mitchell’s 1971 masterwork Blue in its entirety.
Hancock’s River: the Joni Letters, a collection of Mitchell songs that featured such guest artists as Norah Jones and Tina Turner, won the 2007 Grammy for album of the year.
Taylor played guitar on various tracks on Blue and on the title track to her 2007 album Shine.
Nash, who lived with Mitchell from 1968-70, wrote the 1970 song “Our House” about their cozy home life.
Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) is vying for best historical album at the Grammys on Jan. 31. Mitchell and Patrick Milligan are nominated as compilation producers. Mitchell is the first Person of the Year honoree who was also a current year’s nominee since Bruce Springsteen, who was nominated for three Grammys when he was the honoree nine years ago.
Mitchell received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2002, five years after she was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
As noted, Mitchell received the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month. The ceremony will air on CBS on Dec. 22.
Tickets for the Person of the Year gala are available to purchase here. For more information, visit musicares.org or email personoftheyear@musicares.org.
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