Hejira – Celebrating Joni Mitchell
Hejira is a formidable, highly successful 7-piece touring band, set up in 2023 to celebrate the ‘greatest songs’ of Joni Mitchell. Since late 2025, they have been drawing from a pool of 3 outstanding singers/guitarists: Hattie Whitehead; Jana Varga; and Immy Churchill.
The band performs the masterpiece works that Mitchell recorded from ‘Court & Spark’ to ‘Wild Things Run Fast’; expect to hear such classics as ‘Amelia’, ‘Help Me’, ‘Hejira’, ‘Song For Sharon’, ‘A Case Of You, ‘Free Man In Paris’, ‘Coyote’ ‘Hissing of Summer Lawns’ and more!
They have, in their short history, played more than 120 shows in the UK and Ireland, including headline features at The EFG London Jazz Festival; Musicport World-Music Festival; Brecon Jazz Festival; Mosely Folk Festival; Lincoln Jazz Festival; Scarborough Jazz Festival; Oxford Festival of the Arts; Salisbury International Arts Festival; Buxton International Festival.
They produced a live album in 2024 which has received much critical acclaim; for example:
“Hattie Whitehead’s voice is spine-shiveringly like Mitchell’s, and just as full of delicacy, emotion and intelligence…. They are a formidably tight unit, imparting a practised smoothness to the performances. The recording is of optimal quality for a live album too” ~ Jazzwise, August 2024
World-renowned musicologist and critic, Ted Gioia recently included Hejira in his list, ‘My Favourite Videos on YouTube’
Musician and drummer extraordinaire (of Yes, King Crimson, Genesis etc.) Bill Bruford, wrote of the band:
“If you’re looking for a great evening with the music of Joni Mitchell, Hejira is a top-drawer band… Run, don’t walk, for tickets.”
UK’s No. 1 guitar supremo, John Etheridge (of Soft Machine, Stephane Grappelli, Andy Summers etc.) wrote:
“I was mesmerized by this interpretation of the great music of the legendary Joni Mitchell with the sensational vocals of Hattie Whitehead and illustrious band led by Pete Oxley”
