Marcus Mumford on Performing for Joni Mitchell’s PBS Special — and Why He Thinks She’s Singing Better Than Ever in 2023
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When an all-star cast of musicians came together to rehearse their salute to Joni Mitchell for a Washington, D.C.
tribute concert in February, in honor of her being the latest annual recipient of the Gershwin Prize for songwriting, executive producer Ken Ehrlich had an early epiphany about where Marcus Mumford’s cover of “Carey” should go. “During the rehearsal, it was obvious to me: that was the opening number.” As you watch the remainder of “Joni Mitchell: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song,” though — as it premieres on PBS tonight, and is available thereafter for streaming on PBS.org and the PBS app — you won’t see Mumford disappearing from the stage for very many extended periods.
Mumford has been part of the parties at Mitchell’s home the last couple of years, and participated in the “Joni jam” at the Newport Folk Festival last summer, so he is well familiar with her and her catalog at this point.
And so, as Ehrlich explains it, “When I reached out to him, it probably wasn’t a half hour before he got back to me and said, ‘Of course I’d love to do this.’ And then he quickly followed with: ‘Can I play with the band?’ And he became the resident percussionist, which I didn’t have. “With Brandi (Carlile), the two of them kind of … I don’t want to say they took ownership, but they became a part of the fabric of the show, very quietly and unassumingly.
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