Big Yellow Taxi. Photo by Julian Parker Burns A six-piece, New England-based Joni Mitchell tribute band is performing the singer-songwriter’s “Court and Spark” album in its entirety Friday at One Longfellow Square in Portland. Big Yellow Taxi is fronted by vocalist Teresa Lorenco.
The rest of the band is Joe Fitzpatrick (drums), John Cabán (guitar, vocals), Rich Cahillane (bass, guitar, dulcimer, vocals), Anne T. Patterson (vocals, percussion) and Robert Sherwood (piano, keys, bass). Big Yellow Taxi takes its name from the title of a song on Mitchell’s 1970 album “Ladies of the Canyon.
” The band formed in 2019 in western Massachusetts and has been playing shows along the East Coast since 2021. In 2015, Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm, and her recovery was long and difficult. To be able to play guitar again, Mitchell, now 80, had to watch her own performance clips on YouTube.
That was the biggest reason Lorenco started the band, to make sure people could hear Mitchell’s songs performed live when it was uncertain if Mitchell herself would ever be able to. In 2022, Mitchell shocked the music world with a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival where she performed with singer Brandi Carlile by her side and a huge backing band. Lorenco recalled how she felt about Mitchell’s return to the stage.
“It was such a profound moment. To have her shine like that, like an angel on stage, it was like seeing a resurrection.” As a teenager, Lorenco discovered .
