Vanguard

Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Entertainment

I had the chance to see Brandi Carlile perform earlier this year at Mobile's Saenger Theater. That show was tailor-made for fans of truly talented musicians with amazing voices. The lights in the Saenger Theater began to light up the stage to reveal a young, barefoot woman with identical twins holding a bass and a guitar next to her. She quietly approached the microphone and shyly introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Brandi Carlile." Then, all of a sudden, you hear a voice powerful enough to leave you breathless in your seat.

Brandi Carlile is a popular folk singer from Maple Valley, Wash., and is only 23 years old. Her new album, "The Story," was released April 3. The CD is 15 tracks of beautifully written songs. Two of Carlile's hit songs, "Turpentine" and "The Story," have become a popular rotation for Mobile radio station 92.1 the ZEW.

Carlile's lyrics are masterfully worded and unfold a story about the singer. Writing 11 of the 15 tracks on "The Story," Carlile truly has a talent for song writing. The other four tracks were written by twin brothers and band mates, Tim and Phil Hanseroth. "The Story" was recorded in Vancouver, B.C., at The Warehouse Studios.
Carlile taught herself how to sing and play guitar and piano as a child. After learning to play the guitar at the age of 17, Carlile began to work toward her dream of being a music artist. Her first job was back-up singing for an Elvis impersonator.

After picking up her band mates, the Hanseroth brothers, they began working bars, parties and weddings. But in 2004, Carlile was signed to Columbia Records. She released her self-titled debut album shortly following.

"The Story" was produced by Grammy award-winning producer T-Bone Burnett. This is Carlile's best album yet. Since she was declared by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the "Top 10 artists to watch in 2005," we can expect to see much more great writing and soulful singing.

Carlile performed some of her most popular hits like, "The Story," "Turpentine" and "What Can I Say." She even got the crowd involved while singing "Turpentine" by having the audience help in a three-part harmony for the song. She was cheered off the stage after her impressive set ended. But Carlile was brought back to the stage by the Indigo Girls to help perform some of their songs, as well as perform Carlile's song "Cannonball," which the Indigo Girls sing back up for on Carlile's album.

The overall performances at the Saenger Theater that night were an uplifting, crowd-pleasing experience. With Brandi Carlile's impressive performance and her amazing albums catching more fans like wildfire, it will not be long until Carlile will return to Mobile for her own headlining tour. Carlile's pop folk music has certainly left an impression on her fans at the Saenger Theater and continues to do so for the rest of the world, too.

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