Joanna Newsom kicks off The Strings / Keys Incident tour at Kimmel Center

Joanna Newsom | photo by Rachel Barrish for WXPN

Singer-songwriter and harpist Joanna Newsom gave her first concert in three years Friday night in Philadelphia in the intimate Pearlman Theatre of the Kimmel Center.

It was the first time Newsom had performed since the 2017 birth of her daughter, and although she apologized for minor mistakes throughout the set — a harp string broke at one point — the performance sounded beautiful. Newsom played entirely solo, switching her stool back and forth to accompany herself on either harp or grand piano. The setlist touched equally on each of her four LPs — The Milk-Eyed Mender, Ys, Have One on Me, with 2015’s Divers the most represented — and Newsom performed backed by an elegant, earthy original painting done right before the start of tour.

The Strings / Keys Incident tour (a fantastically punny name that jam band fans probably picked up on way before the rest of us) continues tonight the third of seven dates in New York City; from here she travels to the midwest (including an extended Chicago run) and California (with five Los Angeles dates). Her full tour itinerary can be found here; below, check out a gallery of photos from the show, along with the setlist and a couple fan videos.

Setlist
Anecdotes
Bridges and Balloons
Emily
Goose Eggs
Swansea
Divers
Soft as Chalk
Good Intentions Paving Co.
A Pin-Light Bent
Have One on Me
Peach, Plum, Pear
Cosmia
Sapokanikan
Baby Birch

Encore:
Sawdust & Diamonds

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