Article Contributed by Sacks and Company
Published on 2026-04-08
Photo: Scott Kowalchyk
11x Grammy Award-winner Brandi Carlile returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, where she performed “Church & State” solo on piano and spoke with the host (interview part one and part two). Carlile also performed a special web exclusive version of Alphaville’s “Forever Young.”
The appearance adds to another triumphant year for Carlile, who will continue her extensive “The Human Tour” through the fall, including stops at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre (three nights), Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena, Austin’s Moody Center, and Santa Barbara’s Santa Barbara Bowl among many others. She will also headline Newport Folk Festival on July 26 and return to The Gorge Amphitheatre this spring with her “Echoes Through the Canyon” weekend on May 29, 30 and 31, with The Highwomen headlining night three.
Additionally, the eighth edition of Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend will take place in Riviera Maya, Mexico January 14–18, 2027. Blind Faith tickets are on sale starting today at 1:00pm ET. Full details can be found at www.girlsjustwannaweekend.com.
In the midst of yet another groundbreaking year, Carlile’s renowned new album, Returning To Myself—produced by Carlile, Andrew Watt, Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon—debuted at #7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart this past fall. Stream/purchase HERE (Interscope Records/Lost Highway).
Carlile was also recently honored as one of TIME’s 2026 Women of the Year, performed a “gorgeous” (Billboard) rendition of “America The Beautiful” at Super Bowl LX, appeared on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series and NBC’s Saturday Night Live as musical guest for the fourth time, was featured on Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Howard Stern Show, NPR’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin and The Drew Barrymore Show, and spoke with The New York Times for an in-depth profile. Additionally, Carlile’s song, “You Without Me,” from Returning To Myself was featured twice in the season three finale of Shrinking, out now on Apple TV.
Critical acclaim for Returning To Myself:
“Carlile is a bona fide superstar whose compositions feel like instant classics”—NPR Music
“It has the luster and confidence of an artist realizing her prime, finding memory and maturity in the lyrics.”—The New York Times
“One of her finest efforts and one of the best albums of the year”—Variety
“It’s a record about navigating the second half of life with fortitude and not fear; and how the best way to do that is to remember where we came from, and who we got there with.”—Rolling Stone
“Remarkable…a mid-life crisis has never sounded quite this poetic”—Billboard
“For an artist already established as one of her generation’s brightest songwriters, this represents another significant evolution”—Rolling Stone U.K.
“Carlile’s eighth album does the difficult work of cracking open the soul to let flow her vulnerability. The songs succeed in their tasks: bringing her into a fresh creative moment where she flourishes”—Paste
“Stunning, introspective…feels like reuniting with an old friend”—A.V. Club
“A pearl from the new queen of Laurel Canyon…it never sounds less than gorgeous”—MOJO
“It’s a record of reinvention and rediscovery, filled with songs unlike any Carlile has made before, often leaning into her singer-songwriter side but painting with a different sonic palette”—The Seattle Times
“An album full of warmth and humanity”—The London Standard
Carlile is an Oscar-nominated and 11x Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, performer and producer, 2x EMMY-winning composer, lyricist and writer, #1 New York Times bestselling author and activist, who is known as one of music’s most respected voices. Throughout her acclaimed career, Carlile has released eight studio albums including Who Believes in Angels?, the universally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated collaborative album with her childhood hero, Elton John, which debuted at #1 in the U.K. and top 10 in the U.S.
Additionally, Carlile is a renowned producer with recent Grammy-winning projects from Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark. She also produced and recorded a rendition of Indigo Girls’ “Closer To Fine” with her wife, Catherine, which was included on Barbie The Album, as well as a version of “Home,” which was featured in the final season of Ted Lasso. She received her first Oscar nomination in the Original Song category in January 2025 for “Never Too Late,” a Grammy-nominated track written alongside Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt for the Disney+ documentary of the same name.
Beloved by her peers, Carlile has collaborated with artists such as The Highwomen, Soundgarden, Sam Smith, Alicia Keys, Hozier, Noah Kahan, Jacob Collier, P!nk and Dolly Parton. Carlile was named OUT Magazine’s 2023 “Icon of the Year,” awarded Billboard’s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award” and NMPA’s 2023 Songwriter Icon Award and received multiple recognitions from the Americana Music Association. On top of being a musician and writer, Carlile is a founder of the Looking Out Foundation, which has raised over $9 million for grassroots causes to date. Carlile lives in rural Washington state with her wife and two daughters, Evangeline and Elijah.
RETURNING TO MYSELF TRACKLIST
1. Returning To Myself
2. Human
3. A Woman Oversees
4. A War With Time
5. Anniversary
6. Church & State
7. Joni
8. You Without Me
9. No One Knows Us
10. A Long Goodbye
