Brandi Carlile
Japanese Breakfast Covers Brandi Carlile for New North Face Campaign
Japanese Breakfast has recorded an acoustic take on Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” to soundtrack the fall 2022 brand campaign from the North Face. “It was a joy to take on the iconic ballad “The Story,’” Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner says. “I think the song captures the depths of human tenacity and the spirit of the journey so well. We wanted to keep our rendition sparse and acoustic. A beautiful string arrangement written by Craig Hendrix and performed by our violinist, Molly Germer, and Quartet 121 soars in to sweep you up to the mountains.” [embedded content][embedded content] Having DJ’d a special event for SPIN earlier this month at the Bourbon & Beyond festival in Louisville, Ky., Zauner and Japanese Breakfast have a busy touring schedule on tap through early December....
Marcus Mumford Didn’t Want to ‘Terrorize People’ With Addressing of His Traumatic Past on Solo Debut
Marcus Mumford felt he was covering such potentially triggering terrain on his solo debut, (self-titled), out tomorrow on Capitol Records, that the Mumford & Sons frontman ran every line by a trauma specialist. “I said, ‘Look, I don’t want to terrorize people, I don’t want to activate people for the sake of it. But this feels true to me in every sense,’” he tells Billboard. Mumford confronts his demons from the very first line of the album’s very first song. “Cannibal” calls out the person who sexually abused Mumford when he was six: “I can still taste you and I hate it/ That wasn’t a choice in the mind of a child and you knew it,” he sings calmly, before the song bursts into an explosion of energy as he shifts the narrative to learning to forgive and begin ...
Brandi Carlile to Release ‘Laurel Canyon-Inspired’ Re-Record of Latest Album
Brandi Carlile has re-recorded a “Laurel Canyon-inspired” version of her 2021 album In These Silent Days and will release it on Sept. 28 via Low Country Sound/Elektra. The project, dubbed In the Canyon Haze, also includes a new cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Carlile says the idea was inspired by having befriended Joni Mitchell in recent years and absorbing the vibes of the fabled Laurel Canyon music scene of the 1960s and ’70s. As previously reported, Carlile was instrumental in encouraging Mitchell to return to live performance for the first time in more than a decade at the Newport Folk Festival in July. “I could see the cast of California Dreamers with embroidered flowers and peace signs on their backs drifting through a polaroid haze,” she says. “I could smell the marijuana and...
Joni Mitchell Makes Rare Concert Appearance at Newport Folk Festival
Joni Mitchell made a rare public performance tonight (July 24) at the Newport Folk Festival, her first at the event since 1969. Mitchell, 78, was helped onstage with the aid of a cane to join close friend Brandi Carlile during her set, and sat in a large chair while singing “A Case of You,” “Just Like This Train,” “Both Sides, Now,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Summertime” and “Circle Game.” She even stood up to play some electric guitar at one point. Carlile is a longtime Mitchell devotee and has even performed the latter’s classic album Blue in its entirety. Carlile also inspired Mitchell to perform two songs on stage at her own MusiCares’ Person of the Year tribute on April 1 in Las Vegas, her first multi-song appearance in public since 2013. [embedded content][embedded content] Last night Paul ...
How Brandi Carlile Made History at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival
(Editor’s note: SPIN contributor Marissa R. Moss’s book, Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed, is out today. Moss interviewed 70 sources for it, which traces how difficult it is to win when there are so many obstacles to clear. In this exclusive excerpt from Her Country, she outlines how Brandi Carlile engineered yet another historic moment in Newport Folk Festival history by putting together the first-ever female-only set in 2019.) It was a fall of both empty gestures and important strides: the CMA Awards would announce in August that Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire would be taking over hosting duties from Brad Paisley to join Carrie Underwood in “celebrating women” when the show aired in November (though plenty dismissed this as lip servi...
Brandi Carlile Dazzles Grammys With Stirring ‘Right on Time’ Performance
Brandi Carlile dazzled the Grammy audience with her performance of her Grammy-nominated “Right on Time.” Fitted in a glitter suit that could’ve once been Elton John’s, Carlile provided her deep Americana drawl while playing rhythm guitar. Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell introduced Carlile, and along with her suit, Carlile had the power of ’70s rock and Americana fueling her raw performance. As her vocals drove the performance, Carlile nailed the final high note of the track, marking the performance as one of the best of “Right on Time.” Brandi Carlile’s voice has got me in my feelings!Whew🔥#GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/AOMz5Y6iek — UBI/UniversalHealthcare/Housing4All/BravoOpinions (@SusieQuewl) April 4, 2022 Carlile’s In These Silent Days was released on October 1, 2021. She r...
Watch Miley Cyrus Perform With Brandi Carlile, Debut New Song on New Year’s Eve Special
Miley Cyrus spent New Year’s Eve hosting a special in Miami to a crowd of fully-vaccinated party goers. During the festivities, the singer performed two songs with Brandi Carlile — the singer-songwriter’s 2007 hit “The Story” and the Hannah Montana era anthem “The Climb.” “How lucky am I that I get to ring in 2022 singing one of my favorite songs of all time with one of my favorite artists of all time,” Cyrus declared midway through “The Story.” “It’s chicks like her that make me want to do what I do.” [embedded content][embedded content] Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party also saw the host debut a new song called “You” and take on a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” with her sister Noah and Will Smith’s “Miami” with co-host Pete Davidson. Carlile also put her spin on Bonnie Tyler’...
The 30 Best Albums of 2021
Back in June, SPIN published The 30 Best Albums of 2021 (So Far), rounding up everything from mainstream rock to experimental hip-hop. Six months later, we’re back with our year-end recap — and it’s interesting how, even though the stylistic balance has stayed consistent, the picks themselves haven’t. While this list also covers a lot of ground, only six of those earlier records wound up in our final tally. Below, you’ll find massive R&B collaborations (Silk Sonic), trendy pop breakouts (Olivia Rodrigo), big-ticket indie-rock (The War on Drugs), prog-metal giants (Mastodon), and acclaimed indie-rap (Benny the Butcher & Harry Fraud). Looking back at Pandemic Year Number Two, when the music industry forecast seemed to shift on a daily basis, perhaps these changes are only fittin...
The Surprises, Snubs, and Changing Rules for This Year’s Grammy Nominations
On Tuesday morning, the Recording Academy revealed the full slate of nominations for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Over the past few tumultuous years, the Recording Academy has overseen changes in leadership and nominating procedures, with one more twist being announced just this morning before the nominations were unveiled: the Big Four general field categories (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist) would grow from 8 to 10 nominees each. This is the second expansion in recent years, with only five nominees in those categories through 2018. The 10 nominees for Album of the Year include on-again-off-again rival superstars Kanye West and Taylor Swift. West, who was nominated for Album of the Year for each of his first three albums, has not been in the...
SG Lewis, Young Thug, Stevie Wonder, More Join Elton John On “The Lockdown Sessions”: Listen
When it comes to the extraordinary, Elton John feels right at home. So goes his latest opus, The Lockdown Sessions, an eclectic blend of mega-collabs and unprecedented genre studies. The 16-track project was released on October 22nd via Mercury Records. From the piano-driven ballad “Always Love You” with Young Thug and Nicki Minaj to the rock ‘n’ roll anthem “E-Ticket” with Eddie Vedder, The Lockdown Sessions manages to foil the banality of quarantine with a steady supply of surprising sounds. And, in Rocket Man’s signature style, each track is chock full of drama, bringing just the right amount of camp. Also featured on the project are a number of dance and electronica artists. “Orbit” with SG Lewis is an ode to ...
Watch Brandi Carlile Make Her SNL Debut
Brandi Carlile made her Saturday Night Live debut last night while Ted Lasso star and former SNL cast member Jason Sudeikis hosted the show for the first time. She performed “Right on Time” and “Broken Horses” with Tim and Phil Hanseroth on backing vocals, guitar and bass respectively, Shooter Jennings on keys and drummer Chris Powell. [embedded content][embedded content] [embedded content][embedded content] Carlile was the last in a slate of great musical performances this season. Kacey Musgraves kicked off the 47th season with a revealing performance that paid homage to Jenny Gump. The following week, Lindsey Buckingham joined Halsey to perform their collaboration “Darling,” and last week Young Thug made his SNL debut a memorable one by bringing out Blink-182 drummer ...
Watch Brandi Carlile Sing ‘Again Today’ With Pearl Jam
Brandi Carlile has had quite the week. The big news, obviously, is that her terrific new album, In These Silent Days, is out now. On Sunday, she performed “Better Man” with Pearl Jam at Ohana Festival, and on Saturday night on the second night of the festival’s Encore Weekend, the band returned the favor. Calling Carlile up to the stage again, this time Pearl Jam tackled one of her songs, “Again Today.” Previously at their first show at Seattle’s Safeco Field in 2018, they brought Carlile up to perform it. “Again Today” originally featured on 2007’s The Story was covered by Pearl Jam on the 2017 covers album Cover Stories. Check it out below. [embedded content] Carlile wasn’t the only guest during Pearl Jam’s set. For the finale, the band brought up every person who performed on Satur...
