THE haunting soundtrack of the hippie generation is set to come to Worcester’s Huntingdon Hall with a tribute show, The Joni Mitchell Song Book.

The show will feature “a group of top-drawer musicians, led by singer Sarah Miller and keyboard player Aidan Goldstraw, whose lifelong obsessions with the songs of Joni Mitchell brought them together”.

Aidan said: ““Joni’s music was the soundtrack to the days studying for my music degree, and since that time I’d thought about putting together a band which would exclusively play these fantastic songs.”

Sarah added: “Joni has always been my absolute favourite of all the singer-songwriters of that period.

“Every song in her catalogue is wonderful, and the biggest challenge of putting this band together is that we have hard choices for each show.”

One intriguing aspect of Joni Mitchell, both a songwriter and performer, is her ability to adapt in ways that actually build on her legacy, rather than diminishing it; and one example would be her 2000 re-recording of her 1968 hit, Both Sides Now, which reveals greater maturity and insight.

A spokesman said: “Of all the leading lights of the West Coast singer-songwriter movement, Joni Mitchell remains its most influential figure, with a body of work running the gamut from folk to mainstream pop, right through to modern jazz and back again.

“This comprehensive survey of Joni’s career includes landmarks such as Big Yellow Taxi (her most covered song), River and A Case of You (both from the breakthrough album Blue), the radio hits of Help Me and Free Man In Paris (from double-platinum Court and Spark) and the jazz-infused stylings of In France They Kiss On Main St (The Hissing of Summer Lawns) and Coyote (Hejira).

“This is no mere ‘tribute act’ – it’s an evening spent together in the beautiful surroundings of Huntingdon Hall, exploring the work of a musical genius.”

The date for the diary is Friday, May 11, from 7.30pm.

Box Office: 01905 611427 / www.worcesterlive.co.uk