This 73-year old icon of folk music proved that minimalism and modesty on stage are the only requirements for a performer with her soprano and natural vibrato. It is enough to win the audience, such as was waiting for her in the Ljubljana home of culture. She stepped into the light shining on the stage modestly, only her red scarf she took off in the middle of the concert and placed it on the piano, and the sparkle in her eyes stood out. She simply took her guitar in her hands, said 'Hvala' (Thank you) in Slovenian language, and eased into the opening chords of God is God.

A number of people were attracted to the concert by her reputation as a rebel – she marched with Martin Luther King, inspired Vaclav Havel in his fight for the Czech republic, sang at the first Amnesty International Tournament, fought for rights with Cesar Chavez, organized resistance against the war in Vietnam, gave her support to Dixie Chicks for their courage in protests against the Iraqi war, and in 1993 performed in Sarajevo under siege...

Joan Baez is today one of the few fighters from the Woodstock generation. In the autumn of her life she has found new expressive eclecticism. Although the past experiences can't be left out. "This is the song I sing all over the world: I sang it at Woodstock, during the fight of Martin Luther King, I sang it on the national television during the fight of Vaclav Havel, but they unplugged the electricity, but I sang without it," she shared her memories before singing the arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, in original performed a capella by Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Klavdija Kopina
Translated by G. K.