Update (June 6): The concert is airing on PBS’ Great Performances series on stations across the country. Click here for local listings. The event was also recorded for a commemorative album coming June 10 and featuring Baez collaborations with classic rock legends David Crosby (“Blackbird”), Judy Collins (“Diamonds and Rust”), Paul Simon and Richard Thompson (“The Boxer”) and Jackson Browne (“Before The Deluge.”), among many others.
An all-star cast is assembling to celebrate Joan Baez‘s 75th birthday at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on January 27th. Paul Simon, Mavis Staples, Richard Thompson, Judy Collins, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris and others will take part in the event, which will also be recorded for television as part of PBS’ Great Performances series.
Baez turned 75 on January 9th, marking 58 years now since she played her first show at Club 47 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 17. It wasn’t long after her performance at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival the following year that she recorded her first album, Joan Baez, and started to make a name for herself as the “Queen of Folk.” Fans can expect the artists at Baez’s birthday celebration to perform songs from throughout her storied career – plus, the bash doubles as a kick-off for the folk icon’s own 18-city North American tour which runs February through March.
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In keeping with her 1960s civil rights activism, Baez is teaming with Amnesty International to help raise awareness of human rights issues in the United States, focusing on “the critical and urgent issue of racial and ethnic disparities of incarceration,” according to a statement. Representatives from Amnesty will be on hand to engage with audience members at each show.
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Baez continues her 75th birthday tour with European dates from July 9 – August 6. She’ll return to the U.S. for dates from October 4 – November 6.
