Joni Mitchell Makes Rare Appearance Ahead of First-Ever Grammys Performance

Joni Mitchell is starting a conversation at the 2024 Grammys.

The legendary singer made a special appearance during the Feb. 4 pre-show to accept the trophy for Best Folk Album for Joni Mitchell at Newport [Live].

"I don't know what to say about this," Mitchell said in her speech. "We had so much fun at that concert, and I think you can feel it on the record. It's a very joyous record because of the people that I played with, and the spirit of the occasion was very high."

The 80-year-old added, "Even the audience sounds like music." 

She was up for Best Folk Album against Dom Flemons' Traveling Wildfire, The Milk Carton Kids' I Only See the Moon, Nickel Creek's Celebrants, Old Crow Medicine Show's Jubilee, Paul Simon's Psalms and Rufus Wainwright's Folkocracy. (See the complete winners list.) 

Later in the night, Mitchell will take the stage at the Crypto.com Arena for her first-ever Grammy Awards performance. That's right, even though Mitchell had won nine Grammys throughout her career and scored a total of 18 nominations before tonight, she's never performed at the ceremony.

As for her new music, Mitchell's winning album featured her entire set at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, which marked her first full live performance in 20 years. The surprise appearance, which took place during the Brandi Carlile & Friends show, was also Mitchell's first return to a stage since suffering a near-fatal aneurysm in 2015.

"I've never been nervous about being in front of an audience," she told CBS at the festival in July 2022. "But I want it to be good. And I wasn't sure I could be. But I didn't sound too bad tonight!"

During her time on the stage, Mitchell accompanied herself on the guitar, a skill she'd been relearning since her health scare.

"I'm looking at videos that are on the net to see where I put my fingers," she shared. "It's amazing what an aneurysm knocks out–how to get out of chair! You don't know how to get out of a bed. You have to learn all these things by rote again."

"I was into water ballet as a kid, and I forgot how to do the breaststroke," Mitchell continued. "Every time I tried it, I just about drowned, you know?. So, a lot of going back to infancy almost. You have to relearn everything."

To see all of the 2024 Grammy winners, keep reading...

World Music Radio - Jon Batiste
The Record - boygenius
Endless Summer Vacation - Miley Cyrus
Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd - Lana Del Rey
The Age of Pleasure - Janelle Monáe
Guts - Olivia Rodrigo
Midnights- Taylor SwiftSOS- SZA

"Worship"– Jon Batiste"
"Not Strong Enough"– boygenius
"Flowers" – Miley Cyrus
"What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish
"On My Mama" – Victoria Monét
"Vampire"– Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" – Taylor Swift"Kill Bill" – SZA

Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

Lana Del Rey – "A&W"
Taylor Swift – "Anti-Hero"
Jon Batiste – "Butterfly"
Dua Lipa – "Dance the Night"
Miley Cyrus – "Flowers"
SZA – "Kill Bill"
Olivia Rodrigo – "Vampire"
Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For

"Thousand Miles" - Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile
"Candy Necklace" - Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Baptiste
"Never Felt So Alone" – Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish
"Karma" – Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice
WINNER: "Ghost in the Machine" – SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers

Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Ed Sheeran – (Subtract)
Taylor Swift – Midnights

WINNER: The Beatles – "I'm Only Sleeping" 
Tyler Childers – "In Your Love"
Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For?" 
Kendrick Lamar – "Count Me Out"
Troye Sivan – "Rush"

Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
Killer Mike – Michael
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Nas – King's Disease III
Travis Scott – Utopia

Doja Cat – "Attention"
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice ft. Aqua – "Barbie World"
Lil Uzi Vert – "Just Wanna Rock"
Drake & 21 Savage – "Rich Flex"
Killer Mike ft. André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane – "Scientists & Engineers"

Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua – "Barbie World"
Dua Lipa – "Dance the Night"
Ryan Gosling – "I'm Just Ken"
Rihanna – "Lift Me Up"
WINNER: Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For?"

Pablo Alborán – La Cuarta Hoja
AleMor – Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1
Paula Arenas – A Ciegas
Pedro Capó – La Neta
Maluma – Don Juan
Gaby Moreno – X Mí (Vol. 1)

Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Paramore – This Is Why
Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…

WINNER: Boygenius – "Not Strong Enough"
Foo Fighters – "Rescued"
Olivia Rodrigo – "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Queens of the Stone Age – "Emotion Sickness"
The Rolling Stones – "Angry"

Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
Brothers Osborne – Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
Tyler Childers – Rustin' In the Rain
Lainey Wilson – Bell Bottom Country

Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters, Brandy Clark – "Buried"
WINNER: Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters, Chris Stapleton – "White Horse"
John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters, Morgan Wallen – "Last Night"
Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters, Tyler Childers – "In Your Love"
Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters, Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves – "I Remember Everything"

Babyface – Girls Night Out
Coco Jones – What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe)
Emily King – Special Occasion
WINNER: Victoria Monét – Jaguar II
Summer Walker – Clear 2: Soft Life EP

Coco Jones – "ICU"
Halle – "Angel"
Robert Glasper ft. SiR & Alex Isley – "Back to Love"
SZA – "Snooze"
Victoria Monét – "On My Mama"

The 2024 Grammy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. Don't miss E!'s red carpet coverage starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on E!.