Joni Mitchell: Take Me As I Am at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025 is a small marvel. Rainee Blake doesn’t just sing Joni—she is Joni. She performs in character, speaking to us as if we’ve been invited into her home after a tour. There’s a wry, playful sense of humour in the way she tells stories, teasing the audience, laughing at herself, and sharing secrets that feel half-confessed. It’s intimate, and it works.
I went in only knowing a few songs—Big Yellow Taxi and Both Sides Now. Both were delivered with warmth and beauty, reminding me why they became classics. But it was the lesser-known songs that surprised me. Coyote and Woodstock felt alive, urgent, and new. Blake’s voice, tuned to Joni’s strange chords, carried the ache of longing and the restless energy of the road.
What impressed me most was the honesty. No attempt at polish or distance—just raw storytelling woven through song. At times it felt like time travel, the room holding its breath as she played. It’s rare at the Fringe to find something this still, this sure of itself. Take Me As I Am is not a tribute—it’s a meeting with Joni Mitchell in her prime.
Reviewed By Pat Harrington
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