Joan Baez has announced her retirement from the stage at the age of 85.

[sheshe2]

Joan Baez has announced her retirement from the stage at the age of 85. “This is not just the end of my career.
It’s the final chapter of an entire era — an era of idealism, of protest, of songs that dared to challenge power and awaken hearts.

— Charles Keener (@charleskeener.bsky.social) 2026-05-12T21:38:15.839Z

Thank you for everything.

[malaise]

1. Thank you Joan

[msongs]

2. a fave Joan track and a great Dylan cover.....

?si=KWq_B7p74H2yUWNW

[PatSeg]

3. She is such a gift

[Botany]

4. Thank you Joan. I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night.

[Sparkly]

5. .

[walkingman]

6. Joan Baez and MLK, Jr. in my home town when they integrated my HS in 1966.

for anyone that ever doubts how nasty white people can be, I saw some of my neighbors show their true colors. This was a small town and everybody knew everybody.

Sadly, we continue to fight these same battles 60 years later. ☮

[sheshe2]

12. Thank you for that picture, walkingman!

[Joinfortmill]

7. Saw her in Boston. Magnificent

[Emrys]

8. I saw her on the main stage at Glastonbury in 1984, where I was stood right up front

As she sang, the power and depth of her voice and its and her beauty had me in floods of tears, maybe partly because her music was an important part of my childhood as my brother and sister were around ten years older than me, and no doubt partly because I was absolutely off my face.

[QueerDuck]

9. The first Joan Baez album I added to my collection was...

Diamonds and Rust.

[sheshe2]

14. I had that one too.

Back in the day, I played the guitar and sang many of her songs. 🫶❤️

[Talitha]

41. Me too - - her songs said what we felt.

[NBachers]

10. *Sigh* A lump in my throat - There But For Fortune

&list=RDb6omDSxTCXE&start_radio=1

[sheshe2]

15. She had an incredible voice.

[yorkster]

30. Great choice.

[sop]

11. "It's the final chapter of an entire era -- an era of idealism, of protest, of songs that dared to challenge power

and awaken hearts." Doesn't sound very hopeful for the future. Sadly, I think she's right.

[BeneteauBum]

36. Hard to accept

Incumbent on us to move forward…….

Peace ☮️

[GenThePerservering]

13. We need Joan now, more than ever

I hope she continues to speak out.

[Tanuki]

16. She still took the time to stand with Justin Jones in Nashville last week

and lend her voice to the fight against racist redistricting, voter suppression, and White supremacy.

https://www.instagram.com/brotherjones_/reel/DX8GOrthNwU/?hl=en

[sheshe2]

19. That was beautiful, Tanuki.

Thank you.

[malaise]

24. Wonderful

Rec

[Brother Buzz]

17. Joan Baez essentially passed to baton to Jesse Wells when they performed together recently

?si=prZWABdaMq7lq-2r

?si=8-hD_5pFiRlT67Uc

[sheshe2]

22. Wonder videos!

Thank you, Brother Buzz.

Beautiful.

[FakeNoose]

18. Respect ❤️ Admiration ❤️ Love

Thank you Joan Baez! One of the greatest folk singers ever - with the voice of an angel!!!

[Dave Id]

20. Thank you Joan

for all of you gifts in your activism and beautiful voice. You are cherished in our hearts.

[BaronChocula]

21. That voice

I'll even sing along to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." But it's ok. It was written by a Canadian.

[Niagara]

23. Thank you, Joan

[LoisB]

25. I echo everyone else. Thank you, Joan; not just for your music but for showing

up against injustices for so many years.

[COL Mustard]

26. I got to see her in concert in Europe back in the 1980s.

Damn glad I did. She has been an amazing force for almost my entire life.

I love you Joan!

[allegorical oracle]

27. My favorite...as tears come to my eyes....

hhttps://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=the+joy+of+love+by+joan+baez&&mid=E2C68D3A49824E0B419EE2C68D3A49824E0B419E&churl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fchannel%2fUCUI-2j14GePK4T58wA52qtw&FORM=VRDGAR

[sheshe2]

28. Here you go!

Thank you, that was incredibly moving.

[allegorical oracle]

33. Thank you. That is the most romantic song in the world imho....

[FailureToCommunicate]

29. A well deserved exit from the public stage. I never met Joan, though I have

seen her perform countless times. I did get to meet her sisters and brother in law and her delightful parents. What a terrific loving family. No wonder she has always been on the correct side of civil rights, and justice, and not afraid to sing about it!

[sheshe2]

32. That is pretty cool, meeting her whole family...

even though you missed out on meeting Joan.

[unc70]

31. Saw here fairly often in Chapel Hill, etc. Then at the vigil out of the Castro in 78

She sang at the candlelight vigil from The Castro for Milk and Moscone back in 1978 in San Francisco. We were all so young.

[Starbeach]

34. Bravo Joan

Thank you for staying true all these years.

[brer cat]

35. What a talent! It is amazing that she has been strong

for so long.

[swong19104]

37. Miles to go before you (we) sleep, Joan

A few days ago, I was chatting with some 30-somethings and I mentioned Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant. They never heard it or of it. I really wonder how many of the folk songs of the 60s and 70s are being listened by the younger generations.

I was also at a nightclub (of sorts) and the band was playing American standards like Route 66, Spanish Eyes, etc. Then they played CCR’s Have You Ever Seen The Rain. CCR among the standards??

[WheelWalker]

38. Joan singing one of Bobby's best..

?si=BDJklPJy1sMCDPs_

[deurbano]

39. My favorite time seeing her was when she sang "Okie from Muskogee" with Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson & John Prine

in 2010 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA. Kristofferson (one of my all-time faves) opened for Haggard (one of my all-time faves), and Kris came back out to sing/play with Haggard at the end... and then (in a huge surprise), John (one of my all-rime faves) and Joan (one of my all-time faves) joined them! Not sure there was anyone alive at that moment I wanted to see more than the four of them....or anywhere I would rather have been! (And I had seen them all separately several times.) Transplendent!

I saw Joan at a benefit tribute (to her) concert at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco (with other amazing legends) last year, and then at a No Kings rally in SF last fall. She has always been (and continues to be) an inspiration!

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971571/joan-baez-review-masonic-san-francisco-sweet-relief