This lady has pipes! A singer/songwriter whose music splits the difference between pop/rock and folksy Americana, Brandi Carlile picked up the guitar at 17. While playing clubs, she encountered a band called the Fighting Machinists, featuring twin brothers Tim and Phil Hanseroth. When the group broke up, she persuaded the twins to form a new group with her. In 2005 she released her self-titled major label debut. The album earned enthusiastic reviews, and Carlile was named one of 2005’s “Artists to Watch” by Rolling Stone. Carlile released her second album, The Story, in 2007 to warm reviews. Give Up the Ghost followed in late 2009, featuring a duet with childhood idol Elton John. Carlile rang in 2010 by issuing a Valentine’s Day-themed EP, XOBC. She also made a well-received stop at the Bonnaroo Festival. In 2017 she released “By The Way, I Forgive You” with the haunting hit single “The Joke” with won Record of the Year at the Grammys. Her seventh album, “In These Silent Days,” was met with further critical and commercial success, debuting at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Folk charts. In 2025 Carlile received her first nomination at the Academy Award for Best Original Song for her writing and vocal contribution on “Never Too Late” with Elton John and announced her ninth studio album Returning to Myself. Carlile also appeared in the feature documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery – The Untold Story, which reflects on the legacy of the all-female music festival.[9 She sang “America the Beautiful” at Super Bowl LX. Brandi Carlile continues to tour around the world.