Brandi Carlile and Jensen McRae

Musical pretty much since birth, Brandi Carlilie grew up listening to the likes of Johnny Cash and was encouraged to perform regularly by her mother. Learning the guitar in her teenage years, Carlilie began to take her craft more seriously and even dropped out of high school to pursue her musical passions.

Moving to Seattle, Brandi Carlile was picked up by Columbia Records in 2004 after she was seen performing at a series of music clubs throughout the city. A year later, the singer released her eponymous debut album with the label. The record was well received and won Brandi Carlile a large fan base after the album peaked at number 80 on the US Billboard 200 chart and hit the number one spot on the US Folk charts.

It wasn’t long until Brandi Carlile followed up the success of this first album with her 2007 release, “The Story”. The album peaked at number 41 on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 300,000 copies. Multiple tracks from the album were used in commercials and on television shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy”. She was also named one of Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 Artists to Watch in 2005”.

These opportunities introduced Brandi Carlile to a wider, commercial audience and this in turn helped her next two albums, 2009’s “Give Up the Ghost” and 2012’s “Bear Creek”, hit the top 30 on the Billboard 200 and the top five on the US Folk chart. “Bear Creek” actually hit the number one spot on the US Folk chart.

Brandi Carlile has toured alongside Ray LaMontagne, Hanson, Indigo Girls and Tori Amos. In 2014, Brandi Carlile was invited to sing the National Anthem at the NFL Playoff game between the Saints and the Seattle Seahawks.