San Diego-based performer, musician, and teacher Nancy Ross and the band will perform a tribute to Joni Mitchell and her timeless music on Saturday, Dec. 14 at Point Loma Playhouse, 3035 Talbot St.
Ross will be performing with Sean Hicke on bass and Zo Shah on guitar. The band will weave together songs and stories from across Mitchell’s vast folk and jazz-influenced discography. All seats are $25. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the approximately 1 ½-hour performance at 7:30 p.m.
Ross offers a tribute to the renowned ‘60s-era folk musician with her compelling storytelling, phenomenal vocals, and deep understanding of her music. She spoke of her introduction to Mitchell and her music. “I was at a record store in college and I picked up one of her albums, ‘Ladies of the Canyon,’ and it was white and opened up with a really beautiful drawing,” she recalled adding, “I found out it was her artwork and that she did all of her artwork on all of her album covers.”
Ross was impressed by Mitchell’s unorthodox signature style, which she noted has been described as “music for the soul.”
Added Ross of Mitchell’s music, “Nobody does it like her. She writes music that doesn’t have choruses necessarily and doesn’t repeat lyrics. She has odd jumps in her melody lines that don’t seem to make sense, but they make perfect sense to me in what the words are saying. All of the melodies were directly related to the musical poetry she was trying convey.”
Ross pointed out some of Mitchell’s songs were essentially “diary entries to melodies,” which she added is “really cool because you feel like you get a very personal account of what was happening in her life.”
Ross has made it her goal to learn as many Mitchell songs as possible. “I’m up to about 50 now,” she said of the 81-year-old musician who remains active and has performed with musical stars like Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
Ross described their upcoming performance of Mitchell at Point Loma Playhouse as being “between a theater show and a concert” adding “I love Joni Mitchell a lot and it’s a way to feel good. Especially going into the holidays, it adds something different that different generations will all enjoy.”
