Brandi Carlile Takes the Mother Church Higher

On Tuesday, Brandi Carlile launched a six-night, sold-out residency at the Ryman, a landmark feat for the beloved artist, who has — deservedly — seen her star rise significantly in the past year. Her ascent has come thanks to her Grammy-winning 2018 album By the Way, I Forgive You, her work as part of The Highwomen and her role as co-writer and co-producer of Tanya Tucker's landmark new LP, While I'm Livin'. Carlile’s Ryman run was split in two parts, and I hit up Thursday, the final night of the first run. (The remaining three shows are Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.) The gig was marked by gratitude, guest appearances and plenty of good old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll. 

Carlile's fellow Highwoman Natalie Hemby opened the show with a short set that included songs from her acclaimed 2016 debut album Puxico, her (Grammy-nominated!) contributions to the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born, and songs from a new album, Pins and Needles, slated for release later this year. It's hard to think of someone who deserves to stand on the Ryman stage more than Hemby, whose songwriting collaborations with artists like Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves and Little Big Town have helped define the country genre as we know it today. The crowd seemed to agree, giving Hemby several standing ovations during the half-hour she was onstage. 

"Please stay after my show for Brandi's set," Hemby quipped before kicking off the evening with a triumphant take on her Puxico track "Return." She debuted a new song too — the title track from Pins and Needles, which she describes as her "1997 Lilith Fair record." With its percussive minor chords and slinky vibe, the new tune has shades of Sheryl Crow and Tracy Chapman, nailing Hemby's Lilith Fair aspirations. Hemby closed her set with her Kacey Musgraves co-write "Rainbow," bringing out her daughter Sammie Jo to perform alongside her for what would be one of several emotional moments throughout the night.

After an extended jam from her band, Carlile took the stage, flanked by twins and longtime collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth, for a rousing take on By the Way, I Forgive You track "Hold Out Your Hand." Though Carlile is widely renowned as an important voice in country and Americana, she commanded the stage more like a seasoned rock star, an approach she maintained throughout her powerful set. 

One of the highlights was a performance of Joni Mitchell's Blue classic "A Case of You," which Carlile introduced with an anecdote about how she resisted Mitchell's music for years, but her wife finally got her to listen to Blue all the way through. "That was our first fight," she joked, before delivering a pitch-perfect, virtuosic interpretation of Mitchell's complex vision of love and desire. 

For some folks, that might’ve been the absolute emotional peak of the night, but Carlile used it as a springboard get higher, following that performance with By the Way standout "The Mother," which she dedicated to her daughter Evangeline. It’s a gentle song, but like so much of Carlile’s work — and so much of everyday life — it packs a wallop in its fine details.

Next, Carlile began introducing the evening's special guests, which on previous nights included Tanya Tucker and Kim Richey. Her first guests Thursday were 2019’s Americana Honors and Awards Emerging Act of the Year, The War and Treaty. Michael and Tanya Trotter set the stage ablaze with a pyrotechnic performance of Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man." 

Hemby then returned for a mini Highwomen reunion. Hemby and Carlile performed "If She Ever Leaves Me" and "Crowded Table" as duets, noting the absence of bandmates Maren Morris and Amanda Shires. The former song was especially powerful, as the crowd was full of queer couples swaying along and cheering at the lyric: "That's too much cologne / She likes perfume.” Carlile has created a special space at her shows, one where queer love and joy are not merely tolerated but encouraged and celebrated. It was an atmosphere that felt especially electric — radical, even — as a queer person myself.

The parade of guests continued as Sheryl Crow (an "honorary Highwoman") joined the duo to perform "Redesigning Women." She stuck around for a duo performance of her own "Redemption Day," a song about the cruelty of indifference that appears on both her 1996 self-titled album and her 2019 collaborative LP Threads. She introduced it by announcing, "I think we should do a little number to kick-start the impeachment."

The rest of the set seemed to fly by, with Carlile and band moving masterfully through "Pride and Joy," "Mainstream Kid" and — one of the moments many had been waiting for — "The Joke." Carlile introduced that last one by invoking the Grand Ole Opry tradition of asking artists to "play the song that got [them] here." Then, she and the twins moved to the front of the stage, where they sang "Cannonball" in three-part harmony without microphones.

Carlile closed the evening with "Party of One," the Mitchell-recalling ballad that ends By the Way, I Forgive You. It was a fitting end to a perfect showcase for the rich lyricism and passionate, virtuosic vocal performances that have been drawing fans to Carlile for nearly two decades. 

The multi-night Mother Church residency has become a hallmark of the artists working to reshape the country music industry over the past decade. Carlile earned her place in that pantheon early on, and this long-sold-out run feels long overdue. But it also felt fantastic to witness — better late than never.

See our slideshow for more photos.