Brandi Carlile
was born on June 1, 1981 in Ravensdale, Washington. Her musical style has been described as alternative country and folk rock. Brandi taught herself to sing at a young age and began performing onstage when she was only 8. She was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder at 16 and dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music. She began playing in Seattle night clubs and was signed to Columbia Records in 2004. In 2005 she released her first self-titled album, which led to her being featured on Rolling Stone's “10 Artists to Watch in 2005”. This album reached #80 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on US Folk Albums. Her second album The Story was released in 2007 and produced by T Bone Burnett. It features her biggest hit “The Story,” which was featured in several TV commercials and played during the end credits of the film The Lucky One. The Story reached #41 on the Billboard 200 and #10 on US Rock Albums. It also caught the attention of Elton John. Her next album Give Up the Ghost was released in 2009 and features a collaboration with Elton John on the song “Caroline.” It peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200 and earned Carlile a GLAAD Media Award nomination for “Outstanding Music Artist”. Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony was released in 2011 and reached #14 on the Top Rock Albums chart. Carlile released Bear Creek in 2012. The song “Heart's Content” was featured in the 2013 romantic film Safe Haven. The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200, #3 on the US Billboard Rock Albums. and #1 on the US Billboard Folk Albums. Her album The Firewatcher's Daughter was released in 2015 on ATO Records and features a more rock 'n' roll sound.