Joan Baez is the type of star who'll just pick up her phone and call you direct from her house in Woodside, California.
And when that phone line proves to be a little patchy, she'll give you her home number so you can call her back. No publicists or recordlabel reps or conference calling centres getting involved, the 73-year-old has been in the music business long enough to get things done herself.
She's also been doing it long enough that she's inspired a whole new generation of musicians. In August she ended up unexpectedly joining Taylor Swift on stage at the Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, in front of 50,000 screaming fans.
"It was a riot," Baez laughs. "She's just an extraordinary girl."
When Baez and her family were invited to be VIP guests at the concert, she had little idea that she'd end up strutting her way down the catwalk with Swift, and Julia Roberts (also a guest).
"I thought that if we were in the VIP room we'd be there with 100 other people, and she'd just stamp her autograph on everyone, but there was myself and my family, Julia Roberts and her family, and the guy who makes her pianos. And she greeted everybody so warmly, and she seemed absolutely sincere to me.
"And she asked us if we wanted to come out on stage, so we said 'Sure, why not!' It was very sweet because there were 50,000 kids out there and almost all of them wouldn't know me from a hole in the ground, but if Taylor knights you, if she brings you out, they'll scream and yell for you too. So it was a nice introduction to kids of that age, and I hope vice versa."
Taylor Swift invited Joan Baez and Julia Roberts on stage during her The 1989 World Tour. Photo / Getty Images
Indeed, let's hope some of them went home to google Joan Baez, and discovered her legacy of songwriting alongside her activism, and recognised her as one of folk's coolest stars.
In May she was awarded Amnesty International's highest honour, its Ambassador of Conscience award, in admiration of her lifelong commitment to standing up for human rights. She's been using her voice and her songs to communicate, protest and celebrate for nearly 60 years, and a couple of years back, she almost retired. But a new vocal therapist helped her return to the stage.
"My reason for wanting to quit was all to do with my voice because it was getting more and more difficult to sing. What I didn't know was that it could be made easier with the appropriate coach. So I found a new vocal therapist and she gave me some keys to unlock a lot of the problems I was having in my throat, and the results were immediate. It's still not that easy to sing but I have way more tools to work with again."
Of course touring and performing is exhausting, and no one would expect Baez to keep it up, but besides enjoying the performances, she feels some responsibility to keep going.
"I guess I like to be a conduit between what happened 40 years ago and what's going on now. Also, I guess I see my voice as a gift, and I almost feel obliged to keep using it until it wears out. I'll know when it's not working any more, and I'll stop" she laughs.
She has stopped writing new songs herself but she's always had a reputation as a remarkable interpreter of other peoples' songs (the works of Steve Earle, Woody Guthrie and, of course, her ex-boyfriend, Bob Dylan, have long peppered her setlist) so she's found joy in frequently discovering new songs to include in her shows.
This includes finding a native song to sing for each country she visits - at her last New Zealand show she sang Purea Nei e Te Hau. "I like to have at least one song that relates to the country I'm in, a song that will be meaningful."
Using music to draw attention to certain issues, and to champion change has been a cornerstone of Baez's career, but she recognises how difficult it is to take a solid stance on many of the issues that face us today. "I think the interesting thing about where we are now is that there are so many things to protest. I really do think people don't know quite which way to turn, or what to throw their energy into. I think global warming and pollution are our most serious issues, we're losing our birds and bees and beasts and their habitats, and I don't know if we'll be able to get back on track or not.
"So it's hard to say this is the good fight when it's almost impossible to understand all the complex aspects of how to go about it, and when there's no clear solution."
That doesn't mean her musical philosophy has changed though - she still finds solace and encouragement in songs, whether she's performing them, or someone else is. "It depends on the crowd, and how I am, and what the state of the world is in that city of course, but music still makes me feel connected, and it's still an absolute joy," she says.
Lowdown
Who: Joan Baez Where and when: ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland, Tuesday October 20. Listen to: Day After Tomorrow (2008), Diamonds & Rust (1975), Joan Baez (1960)
