Recap Joan Baez at Barrymore Theatre

When folk legend Joan Baez performed a sweeping rendition of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” on Saturday night at the Barrymore Theatre, everyone in the audience (except for a baby in the front) simply shut up in awe of Baez's soaring tenor. That was partially because Baez prefaced the old gospel hymn with a story about how she once used the tune to wake Martin Luther King Jr. from an afternoon nap. After all, her mind-boggling musical career has taken her to draft-resistance communes, civil rights marches, anti-war protests, and even a couple of jail cells. On her current tour, the crooning activist is celebrating both the release of 2008’s Day After Tomorrow and the 50-year anniversary of her first performance at the legendary Newport Folk Festival.

“Well, I think we have a few decades to traverse here,” Baez said early in her set. “It probably seems a bit goofy to you that I’m still doing this, but it’s even goofier to me that you people still come to my shows.” From the haunting anti-war stomp of set opener “Day After Tomorrow” (originally penned by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan), Baez’s lofty vibrato shook heartstrings as it swung across the melodic banjo plucking of multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, who would also shift between piano and mandolin. Also impressive was the flawless guitar work of Scott Nygaard, who was filling in for the tour. The set pulled largely from Baez’s massive back catalog, from the more traditional folk sound of her 1960 self-titled debut to the jazz-infused pop found on 1975’s Diamonds & Rust to the Steve Earle-produced Day After Tomorrow. As a whole, the set showcased the elder songstress’ ability to thrive on both other songwriters' tunes and her own. Throughout the set, Baez drew thunderous applause, and even received a couple bouquets of flowers from a fan in the front row.

Eventually, the band left the stage and Baez worked her way through Bob Dylan's “Forever Young,” which moistened the eyes of the two sixtysomething women sitting next to Decider. As she heaved her voice through “Diamonds And Rust,” the ode to her well-publicized relationship with Dylan, the audience faintly sang along with every word. After Baez's set climaxed with her powerful take on The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” she took dozens of bows while the audience gave her a standing ovation. Baez closed the evening with a heart-wrenching a capella rendition of “Amazing Grace,” during which she essentially turned the audience into a choir, proving that even at 68 years old, she can still fill an entire theater with hope and tears.