Brandi Carlile

About

Also known as: Brandi Marie Carlile, Carlile, Brandi, Brandi Marie Carlile, Carlile, Brandi

Brandi Carlile built her reputation on raw, emotionally charged folk rock and Americana, and the crack in her voice on the title track of her 2007 album The Story, a happy accident of how the sessions were recorded, became one of her most recognisable moments. Produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded in just eleven days, that album broke her to a wider audience, boosted considerably when General Motors used the song in commercials during the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since then she has kept releasing albums that critics and fans consistently embrace, from Bear Creek and The Firewatcher's Daughter through to By the Way, I Forgive You, which earned her six Grammy nominations at once and made her the most nominated woman at the 61st Grammy Awards. She has also made her mark well beyond her solo work. In 2019 she co founded the Highwomen, an all female country quartet with Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby, whose debut album won a Grammy for Best Country Song. Her songwriting on Tanya Tucker's While I'm Livin' brought her three more Grammys, and she has picked up Emmy Awards for contributions to the TV series We the People and the YouTube series Jam Van. Her most recent studio album, Returning to Myself, arrived in 2025.