Joan Baez At Shubert

Folk singer and activist Joan Baez turned 75 in January. She played the Newport Folk Festival in 1959, when she was 18.

She then introduced the Newport crowd to Bob Dylan in 1963. Baez was one of the main voices and faces of the folk revival — young people plumbing traditional songs, many made in the 1920s, but some going back hundreds of years, and reintroducing them to a new generation of listeners, re-contextualized and energized as voices of the people in times of turmoil and upheaval.

Baez’s vibrato was always arresting, and her activism, dignity and idealism have been equally compelling. In addition to her songs and causes, Baez has also crucially championed the work of many legendary songwriters at the starts of their careers.

If there are those who still think that a simple song can change things, they are heirs to Baez. She plays the Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven, Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. $45 to $80. 203-562-5666 or shubert.com.