Joanna Newsom Plays First Show Since 2020 as Fleet Foxes’ Surprise Opener

Joanna Newsom joined Fleet Foxes as a surprise opener for their show at the Belasco in Los Angeles yesterday (March 22). It was her first live performance since 2020. After Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold introduced her—“Without further ado, I present the high priestess of acoustic music, Joanna Newsom”—she performed five new songs before returning to do “Good Intentions Paving Co.” with Fleet Foxes. In a statement to Pitchfork, Pecknold wrote about how the show came together:

Late last fall, Joanna asked me if we had any shows in Los Angeles coming up that she could drop in on as a surprise opener to test out some new songs. We didn’t have anything planned until August at the Hollywood Bowl with My Morning Jacket, but this is the greatest living songwriter we’re talking about, maybe the best musician since, like, J.S. Bach, so me and the FF team spent the last few months planning this for her.

The venue needed to be small enough that it would sell out right away as a Fleet Foxes–only show, regal enough to deserve a Joanna appearance, and allowing of us to be onsite for multiple days of both rehearsal and the construction of the elaborate flower arrangements surrounding the stage and venue. I came up with this “Spring Recital” conceit just to deflect attention from the “special guest” part, and I asked my dad and Daniel Rossen to be involved, giving it a kind of Last Waltz feeling, an impression that anyone might show up.

We had custom merchandise made, our collaborators the Westerlies made horn arrangements for Joanna off of voice memos, my brother filmed the event…. I am so lucky and grateful that the touring organization we’ve built was able to gracefully accommodate this request of hers and make it the best it could possibly be, something really special for the 1,200 devoted people who trusted us when buying tickets. Putting this show together was the honor of my lifetime! Thank you, Joanna!

Reddit user SleepingRedWolves recorded video of each song, which you can find on the linked page; alternatively, watch a pair of clips below.

Pecknold also shared photos of himself with Newsom on Instagram and wrote, “No words, best show to ever happen. Thank you to everyone involved and hope we can do it again sometime. Those new songs were unbelievable!!!!!!!”

Fleet Foxes are touring in support of their 2020 album, Shore. Last year, they shared a new song called “A Sky Like I've Never Seen” and covered the Strokes’ “Under Control” with Blood Orange. Newsom’s last album was 2015’s Divers.

Read “Witnessing Joanna Newsom’s Surprise New Era” on the Pitch.

This article was originally published on Thursday, March 23, at 12:07 a.m. Eastern. It was last updated on March 23 at 11:55 p.m. Eastern.