Clerno, Dick, and Stevens bring personal style and emotional depth to Mitchell’s music
Photo: (L-R) Sarah B. Stevens, Maddie Dick, Zuri Clerno (singing) & Jacob Kerzner (piano). Photo by Steven Sheldon
Joni Mitchell can never be confused with The Beatles or Elton John, two earlier tribute concerts at The Encore Musical Theatre Company in 2025. Despite that, Zuri Clerno, Madde Dick and Sarah B. Stevens, fresh off their performance in The Importance of Being Earnest, treated the audience to a coffee-house style concert with their angelic voices.
Each shared stories about Mitchell’s lyrics. Clerno got things started with Help Me. You could close your eyes and listen, and you were back in 1974 all over again. The singers did not attempt to sound like Mitchell and that contributed to the success of the concert. Clerno, Dick and Stevens used their beautiful voices to put personal touches on the songs.
Stevens, a veteran of the Encore stage, sang a classic Mitchell tune called Turn Me On, I’m A Radio. She revealed that Mitchell’s record label told her that she had to produce a hit. Turn I’m A Radio reached #25 on the Billboard Top 40. Maddie Dick, from Pittsburgh, PA., explained that in Pittsburgh, “we have rivers. Lots of rivers. Michigan has ponds.” She then sang a great rendition of “River.”
When all three ladies sang together, what a treat! Their voices blended perfectly. When asked why, given their remarkable voices, they didn’t sing more harmonies? Their answer was quick and decisive. “Two days of rehearsals,” said Stevens & Clerno. “We finished with The Importance of Being Earnest on Sunday afternoon. Sunday night, we had a brief sing through. We practiced at home, learned the words at home, had rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and our first performance was tonight (Thursday),” Stevens said. Clerno added, “We would have if we had a little more time.”
All three voices combined to deliver a stunning version of the classic Mitchell song “The Circle Game.” Maddie Dick invited the audience to add their voices to the music, and many did. Mitchell wrote the words to The Circle Game in response to Neil Young’s Sugar Mountain, written in 1964 in despair, thinking that, turning twenty, the life he knew and loved would be over. The Circle Game is a more hopeful outlook on life. Dick, Clerno and Stevens delivered a masterpiece with The Circle Game. It was a song that no one wanted to end.
Stevens followed that with the sad song “Little Green,” written about a 6-month-old baby that Mitchell had to give up for adoption. The song chronicles a mother’s lifelong regret, wondering about her little girl. Stevens shared that the song has a happy ending, in that Mitchell’s daughter, who was pregnant with her own child, reconnected with Mitchell, and they remain involved in each other’s lives.
The concert concluded with two of Mitchell’s biggest hits. Clerno, Dick and Stevens hit a home run with each. First, they sang “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” — Big Yellow Taxi. The concert concluded with the iconic “Both Sides Now. And it was clear the three singers had a deep appreciation for all the hidden meanings of the song and respected that it was the fan favorite of the night. The audience rose to their feet, saluting the singers.
The ladies were backed up by outstanding musicians. Jacob Kerzner, music director, arranger, singer and played piano. New to the Encore, Andrew Harness played guitar and Joe Mowatt on percussion.
The Joni Mitchell Tribute Concert has sold out performances on Friday and Saturday evening and the Sunday matinee. A few tickets remain for the Saturday 2 p.m. concert.
This reviewer did not know what to expect from watching a Joni Mitchell tribute concert. Zuri Clerno, Maddie Dick and Sarah B. Stevens are wonderful. What a pleasure it was listening to them sing. And the real measure of a successful concert is to always leave the audience wanting more.
Me, for one, could have listened to these ladies for hours.
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