subject: Lilith Fair Artist Spotlight: Brandi Carlile [print this page] As one of the headliners on this year's reinstated Lilith Fair festival, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile spoke of her excitement when she first heard the celebration of women in music was back after a 10-year-plus hiatus.
I started hearing rumors that there was going to be another Lilith Fair, and I immediately became anxious that I wasnt going to be asked, Carlile says. When I got asked to be part of Lilith Fair 2010, I was totally overwhelmed because honestly, I dont know what kind of artist I would be if it hadnt been for Lilith Fair.
Carlile went on to explain how Lilith Fair shaped her life musically and socially.
I was a huge fan of it. I went to every single Lilith Fair festival that came to my state. If there were two in one summer, I went to bothor three. I didnt just go though. I camped out and entered all the songwriter competitions before and after. It was just a really big part of my life in my late teens, which was a really formative time.
A music festival like none other, Lilith Fair showcases females in the arts and raises money and awareness for womens charities.
I think people see now that womens music is not a genre, its equivalent in every way to mens music. Lilith Fair illuminates the fact that it has a place. Its not genre specific, its not age specific. We need it back now, to drive that point home, Carlile says of the festivals important legacy.
Furthermore, Carlile believes the industry has finally accepted the notion that female artists are just as powerful in music as men. I hear women on the radio more, and I know women are selling records like they said we would never be able to do. And now were going to show that women can sell concert tickets.
While Carlile says she hasnt had a difficult time breaking into the industry as a female artist, the problem she often does find is that it isnt completely acceptable for women to be loud. I still think that bravado is a very male specific personality trait. I run into that sometimes, but I dont think it ever affects me negatively.
Currently on the road promoting her latest release, 2009s Give Up the Ghost (Columbia), Carlile says the album is about confronting things in ones past or future, and the notion that sometimes your environment is less honest with you than your subconscious. Hell, even Elton John makes an appearance on the record.
Elton John is my all-time hero, so to be able to work with him was a huge milestone for me. Having your hero grace your song with their presence is also the ultimate form of validation, Carlile says.
While she doesnt have a set writing process, Carlile notes that the songs she likes most are often the tracks she writes the lyrics for first.
Some of my favorite lyricists of all time are story writers. They write stories and works of fiction. I love that style of writing. But I also like the personal, introspective songwriter style, she reflects. I think that a person who has the gift of both is really blessed. I dont have the gift of both. I try and push my writing into works of fiction but I think I get a little self centered with my songwriting. Thats my next goal as an artist, to be able to push myself deeper into the realm of imagination.
With Lilith Fair now wrapped and a European and symphony tour on the way, Carlile has been keeping busy. She remains to stay optimistic about the music industry and encourages girls to keep at it, regardless the obstacles they face.
My advice is the opposite of what it was in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, which is that you CAN do it. You can sell records. You can sell concert tickets. You can get your voice on the radio. You can hang out with a group of boys in a band and be cool, she says. Theres no reason to not do it. The strongest thing that you can do is to form a community around you. A community of musicians, artists, writers, free thinkers, and activists that will elevate you. You can always succeed with a community around you.
