Joan Baez took to Instagram on Sunday to share a video of her performing “America the Beautiful” and encourage folks to get out and vote in the 2024 presidential election.
Sitting in a kitchen, she launched the clip with a sweet laugh before singing the patriotic song while playing an acoustic guitar. In her heartfelt rendition, she changed the original lyrics of “Crown thy good with brotherhood” to “Crown thy good with sisterhood” in support of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“Times are a-changin’ — Let’s crown thy good with sisterhood,” she captioned the clip. “Register to vote at vote.org or headcount.org and VOTE BLUE!”
The folk legend and activist made a surprise appearance during Hozier’s set at Newport Folk Festival on Friday, where she joined him along with Mavis Staples, Nathaniel Rateliff, Madison Cunningham, Allison Russell, and other artists to perform a rendition of The Band’s “The Weight.” As an extra treat, the set culminated with Baez leading the audience through an acoustic rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” trading verses with Kaia Kater and William Prince. Although Baez has performed the fest on numerous occasions, she was officially in attendance to give a poetry reading.
Baez released her debut poetry book, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, in April. It follows the release of the documentary on her life, Joan Baez I Am a Noise that premiered last fall, which also traced her final tour that ended in 2019. She’s currently on a book tour, with her next stop featuring her in conversation with Ari Shapiro at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C. on July 31.
Anthony Orosz*