The beautification and hypersexualization of women in the music industry is nothing new and all-encompassing, affecting all genres, from the more obvious ones, like pop and rock ‘n’ roll, to the ones that would seemingly exist outside of these patriarchal conventions, like folk music.

Baez is more of a folk pioneer than anybody else. You can imagine folk as something that bleeds into the souls of all of us, like a voice we all share, experiences that come and go like an easy catch-up in a pub. We can imagine folk as stories, characters, and narratives, the kind that don’t matter if they’re entirely made up, so long as they make us feel something. Suppose that’s precisely what Baez does, but with something that goes even further than that, becoming everything around while also showing us the way.

To ignore the ghosts until they go away. But what happens when these memories are held up to the light and examined? What happens when we grit our teeth and sit with feelings that have so long been ignored? Often, art is born when pain is allowed to radiate through us until it crystallizes into beauty. Joan Baez’s beautiful, haunting song “Diamonds and Rust” is just that — a gemstone forged by love lost and pain reignited. Before we dive into what makes this song special, let’s take a closer look at the impressive woman behind it.

When the Beatles arrived in the States for a second time, they stopped off for a couple of nights on their tour in Colorado towards the end of their scheduled run, and on the second night, they were blessed to have folk royalty in their midst in the form of Joan Baez.

Baez was already writing “Diamonds and Rust” when she received a phone call from Dylan. He called from a phone booth in the Midwest and read the lyrics to his song “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.” Her song wasn’t about him initially. But she was writing about him now.

To be clear, I don’t think that director James Mangold has some kind of vendetta against Baez. I think a more accurate statement would be that every character in “A Complete Unknown” is confined by the limits of the biopic genre, and Mangold does relatively little to rescue the film from its worst impulses. I like to call it “biopic syndrome”: in place of a cohesive narrative, a dizzying number of scenes are stitched together in a montage of events that decorate Dylan’s rise to fame. This style of filmmaking is endemic to the genre, and it’s the source of many viewer complaints over the years who regard biopics as messy, disconnected and worthy of ridicule. And because “A Complete Unknown” places most of its attention on Dylan’s personal relationships rather than his art, the climax of the film is rendered completely ineffective, more akin to a love triangle than a portrait of a complicated artist.

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund celebrated the legacy of legendary folk singer Joan Baez on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. (...) Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides services and financial assistance for career musicians and music industry professionals. Grants are earmarked for medical and vital living expenses, including insurance premiums, prescriptions, medical treatment and operative procedures, housing costs, food costs, utilities, and other basic necessities. The event raised more than $600,000. 100% of all donations to Sweet Relief for California fire relief are being distributed to victims.

“The Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame is the perfect place to honor Joan’s impact on music and American history. Her career started on the stage of Club 47 and others around Boston and Cambridge, and she was in the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of inductees,” said Casey Soward, President and CEO of the Boch Center. “We continue to celebrate her legacy, educating a new generation about the incredible life the iconic singer has led.” Joan Baez: A Life of Music, Art, and Activism showcases a variety of items from the life and artistry of Joan Baez. As a singer/songwriter, Baez occupies a singular space in history, but her body of work extends into many facets of creativity, including poetry and visual art.

The creative genius and passionate determination of one of America’s musical icons comes to life inside the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame with "Joan Baez: A Life of Music, Art, and Activism". The exhibit, curated by Museum Collective, will feature handwritten lyrics, rarely seen personal photos, original artwork and famous instruments that defined Baez’s award-winning career. The new exhibit opens inside the Boch Center Wang Theatre, March 6, 2025.

Joan Baez received a gold medal for her outstanding contributions in art and public discourse, the highest honour awarded, from the Historical society on Friday, December the 13th. Baez, who rose to fame in the 60s, has become a legend in folk music and has advocated for nonviolence and human rights throughout her long and illustrious career. Baez was first introduced and awarded the medal for her work in activism and art before sitting down for a Q&A session with the Auditor of the Hist, Tom Francis. Francis asked Baez questions about the intersection between music and activism and the particular current state of the world. Of activism and social change, Baez stated, “I wouldn’t be interested in it without the music. I believe that it’s the spirit and it’s really the only thing that crosses borders”.

There were stars a plenty at the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin last night. Yet they were all playing second fiddle (excuse the pun) to a global star who was in Dublin for a screening of a documentary about her life, Joan Baez. Now 83, Ms Baez is as famous for her decades of political activism as she is for her music, and indeed the two became interwoven over the years. "The activism came a teeny bit earlier than the songs and the guitar and the ukulele and all of it," Ms Baez said. "All I can tell you is that when I was eight and my parents joined a quaker church, it was about learning about violence and non-violence and nation-state versus human beings and I found that all through the years I've been the happiest and felt the most reason to be here when I was doing music and activism at the same time," she added.

Baez is a legendary folk musician and a lifelong activist who was at the forefront of 1960s counterculture. She marched with Martin Luther King, opposed the war in Vietnam, attended peace marches in 1970s Belfast. A recent documentary about her life, Joan Baez: I Am a Noise, tells the story of her music and activism but also deals with her struggle with anxiety and some upsetting family secrets. It’s all the more affecting given how powerfully Baez has moved through the world. The impression most fans would get from her is that she is someone who’s at peace and knows exactly what she’s doing. She laughs. “That’s true now.”

Wednesday night’s Glide Annual Holiday Jam featured a surprise appearance by folk legend Joan Baez at the fundraiser for Glide’s holiday meals and service programs, and she stunned with a three-song set that featured John Lennon’s “Imagine.” For many in the Bay Area, the holiday season really begins with the Glide Annual Holiday Jam, generally held a week or two before Thanksgiving, and often raising more than $2 million in a single evening for Glide’s charitable efforts.

Singer and human rights campaigner Joan Baez is to visit the home of Seamus Heaney for a poetry reading during a forthcoming visit to Ireland. [...] The visit has been announced by the organisation Art for Human Rights. The screening of the documentary, directed by Karen O’Connor, Maeve O’Boyle and Miri Navasky, will take place in Dublin on December 10th, which is also International Human Rights Day. It is to be followed by a discussion with Ms Baez, Ms O’Connor and Ms O’Boyle, hosted by broadcaster Olivia O’Leary. [..] “For over 60 years Joan Baez has been the voice of civil and human rights struggles around the world and a passionate and consistent proponent of non-violence,” said Art for Human Rights founder and executive director Bill Shipsey. “We are grateful and humbled and cannot wait to meet and greet her.

Around 7.30am on Christmas Eve in 1972, Joan Baez was singing the Lord’s Prayer into a tape recorder. She was in Hanoi when America launched its worst bombing raids since the Second World War, having travelled to Vietnam with three others to experience the unrest first-hand and deliver mail to US prisoners. That morning, the unexpected sound of an exploding bomb interrupted her singing, leaving many to grapple with the unmistakable dilemma of fight or flight. [...] Baez is often linked to the counterculture movement of the 1960s, but beyond occupying the figure of someone willing to go against the artistic grain, her integrity and demand for greater justice made her one of the most impassioned campaigners of all time. After the war, she fought against human rights abuses by the Communist government, her willingness to exist alongside those hurt and scorned becoming a beacon of resilience and hope for the oppressed, even as she faced relentless persecution herself.

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. [...] “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.”

Don't miss the opportunity to witness a remarkable event as singer, songwriter, and activist Joan Baez takes on a new role as a published poet at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). The event takes place on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at 8:00pm. Renowned for her career in singing folk songs, which are deeply rooted in history and social relevance, Joan Baez has transcended generations as an icon of the 1960s and beyond. [...] Although Joan Baez has been writing poetry for decades, these personal reflections and musings have remained private until now. In her book "When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance." her poetry delves into her life, family, and her deep connection to nature and art.

At 83, Joan Baez, the trailblazing singer and civil rights activist is publishing her first collection of poetry. She talks to Kevin E G Perry about the power of protest music, her years with Bob Dylan, her ‘odd couple’ relationship with Steve Jobs, and her fears for a future under Donald Trump.

The singer-songwriter’s debut collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, marks the first time she’s sharing her poetry publicly, the culmination of decades spent chronicling her life. […] Though the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter has been writing for years, the 120-page collection marks the first time she’s sharing her poetry publicly, the culmination of decades spent detailing her life.