Joan Baez ( b13 )

 On August 2, 2009, Baez played at the 50th Newport Folk Festival, which also marked the 50th anniversary of her breakthrough performance at the first festival. On October 14, 2009, PBS aired an episode of its documentary series American Masters, entitled Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound. It was produced and directed by Mary Wharton. A DVD and CD of the soundtrack were released at the same time.

2010s

On April 4, 2017, Baez released on her Facebook page her first song in twenty-seven years, "Nasty Man", a protest song against US President Donald Trump which became a viral hit. On April 7, 2017, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On March 2, 2018, she released a new studio album entitled Whistle Down the Wind, and has been undertaking her "Fare Thee Well Tour" to support the album. On April 30, 2019, Baez told Rolling Stone that she had been approached to perform at the Woodstock 50 festival, but had turned the offer down for "it was too complicated to even get involved in" and her "instincts" were telling her "no".

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Joan Baez among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Social and political involvement

To reward her decades of dedicated activism, Baez was honoured with the Spirit of Americana/Free Speech award at the 2008 Americana Music Honors & Awards.

1950s

In 1956, Baez first heard Martin Luther King, Jr., speak about nonviolence, civil rights and social change which brought tears to her eyes. Several years later, the two became friends, with Baez participating in many of the Civil Rights Movement demonstrations that Dr. King helped organize.

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