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Brandi Carlile
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SXSW Conference Announces Keynote Speakers Brandi Carlile, Nile Rodgers, More
Other SXSW speakers will include Beastie Boys' Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz, T Bone Burnett, David Byrne, and Shirley Manson of Garbage
GRAMMYs/Feb 14, 2019 - 03:13 am
The SXSW Music Festival is coming March 11–17, 2019 in Austin, Texas and its associated SXSW Conference, beginning on March 8, announced its extensive lineup of keynotes and featured speakers on Feb. 13, including 61st GRAMMY Awards three-time winner Brandi Carlile as well as Beastie Boys' Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz, T Bone Burnett, David Byrne, and Nile Rodgers. Featured speaker Shirley Manson of Garbage was previously announced.
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Actress Elisabeth Moss will join Brandi Carlile for a discussion of how the real world of the music business and its portrayal in film overlap. They will also discuss Moss' guest spot on Carlile's video for "Party Of One" as well as Moss' preparations for her role as punk artist Becky Something in the movie Her Smell, coming out in late March.
David Byrne's 2018 album American Utopia had been nominated at the 61st GRAMMY Awards for Best Alternative Music Album, but Beck's Colors won the category. T Bone Burnett's upcoming solo album The Invisible Light is due out on April 12. In Sept. 2018, Rodgers returned with Chic's first new album in more than a generation, It's About Time.
"We're fortunate to bring together a diverse group of creative thinkers and leaders to share their perspectives," said SXSW Chief Programming Officer Hugh Forrest. "From NASA scientists to entertainment legends Nile Rodgers and T Bone Burnett to influential voices like Stacey Abrams and Kara Swisher, the breadth and depth of programming at this year's event is what continues to make SXSW unique and indispensable."
More details and ticket packages are available on SXSW's website.
Brandi Carlile Wins Best Americana Album For 'By The Way, I Forgive You ' | 2019 GRAMMYs
(L-R) Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney attend the 'This is a Film About The Black Keys' world premiere as part of SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals on March 11, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Photo: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
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5 Memorable Moments From SXSW 2024: A Significant Protest, The Black Keys, De Facto, & More
More than 340 new bands played SXSW for the first time in 2024, while many others returned to the annual fest. Read on for some of the most inspiring and exciting moments from SXSW 2024 — from performances by legends to groundbreaking new acts.
GRAMMYs/Mar 18, 2024 - 10:57 pm
The 2024 South By Southwest Festival got off to a dramatic start: approximately 80 artists, speakers, and event sponsors pulled out of the event to protest the sponsorship of the U.S. Army and defense companies and then a hit-and-run traffic incident in a crowded festival area resulted in a fatality and serious injury early Tuesday.
SXSW spokespeople issued statements about both. They were "saddened" by the tragic traffic incident, and reiterated that they are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints and therefore saw no issue in allowing the military sponsorships. They also did not criticize anyone who pulled out of the festival to show solidarity with Palestine and protest genocide. Republican Texas Governor Ron Abbott was not as diplomatic.
And yet the music portion of the festival pushed on.
Some of the bands who pulled out of the festival performed "unofficial" shows, and as with previous SXSW festivals, the diversity of music offerings was staggering: artists played genres such as folk, pop, indie rock, psychedelic cumbia, punk, electronic, and Americana, but also offered regional lenses to musical styles — Texas rap, Southern California soul-jazz — and social justice viewpoints like indigenous hardcore. Artists also offered global perspectives on jazz, hip hop, and psychedelic funk.
Read on for TK of the most inspiring and exciting moments from SXSW 2024 – from performances by legends to groundbreaking new acts.
The Black Keys Take Audiences Behind The Scenes (And Back To Their Salad Days)
Music keynote offerings felt slim compared to previous years, but festival goers did get an authentic, revealing glimpse into the world of the Black Keys — there to promote a new documentary film about their band history and to perform two shows.
Drummer Patrick Carney stole the show with humorous, deadpan anecdotes —including that time he slept in the van to guard the $500 they made at a show and woke up in the middle of the night to a crowd of drunk people dressed like Santa Claus in the middle of July — and self-effacing jokes about himself and the group: "The first time we came to SXSW we couldn’t afford to stay in town."
One thing the film makes clear is that two key elements of the Black Keys are simplicity and technology. They kept things simple by being a two-piece band: a few bass players auditioned early on but Carney and Dan Auerbach preferred the sound of drums and guitar. But the key element was Carney’s four-track recorder: he taught himself how to use it, which enabled the band to record themselves in Carney’s basement and fine-tune their nuanced approach to rock music.
"We wanted the kick drum to sound like the speakers were blown," Carney said in an interview.
Carney and guitarist/singer Auerbach later performed a blues-driven sold-out show at Austin’s Mohawk, joined by artists on Auerbach’s Nashville-based record label Easy Eye Sound. There was no banter, just music.
Bootsy Collins Brings The Funk & A Lot Of Flair
Legendary funk bassist, singer, and producer Bootsy Collins — who played with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, boasts a long solo career, and collaborated with artists like Deee-Lite, Fatboy Slim, Silk Sonic, Kali Uchis and Tyler, the Creator — hosted high-energy shows with the Ohio group Zapp and his entourage of collaborators and proteges at the 2024 festival.
A long line of people snaked down Austin’s busy Red River Street waiting to get into the packed Mohawk club for a March 15 show, which featured guest artists Henry Invisible, Tony “Young James Brown” Wilson, and FANTAAZMA. A few fans wore big hats and star-shaped sunglasses to emulate Collins’ distinct look.
Collins, who announced in 2019 he wouldn’t play bass in live performance anymore, was in town to promote his anti-violence initiative, "Funk Not Fight," and a new song and album of the same name. He also promoted his Bootzilla Productions company and Funk University, which aims to mentor younger creatives like Hamburg-based FANTAAZMA, who joined Collins for a SXSW Studio interview with TikTok creator Juju Green.
“At some point James Brown saw something in me, you know, and grabbed us in, and I’ll never forget that, and so that’s what I try to do,” Collins said about his efforts to help mentor younger artists.
Omar Rodríguez-López & Cedric Bixler-Zavala Get Weird
What a journey these two have had: they met as teens in the hardcore scene in El Paso, Texas, formed two influential alternative rock bands — At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta — and one obscure dub project — De Facto — that earned them rock and roll acclaim from the music press and respect from musical peers in bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird, a new documentary about the creative partnership between Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala, premiered at the 2024 festival. The film illuminates the duo’s struggles with bandmates, addiction, racism, Scientology, and their ups and downs in the music industry.
Rodríguez-López recorded loads of footage over the years of them on the road, in recording studios, and in live performance. Those intimate, up-close moments used in the film reveal a partnership that begins in solidarity, drifts apart, and comes back together stronger than when they started. It’s essentially a film about friendship.
The two appeared briefly onstage before the film’s screening, alongside director Nicolas Jack Davies, but said nothing. For the first time in 21 years, the two performed at this year’s SXSW festival as De Facto, their lesser-known reggae-influenced side project, to promote the new film.
Cumbia Is The Real Soundtrack To SXSW 2024
Cumbia in 2024 is conscious party music, still closely linked to its Colombian origins but expanded and modernized by elements of psychedelia and the young players from across the country and the world interpreting the genre.
Cumbia could be heard throughout the festival, in particular at a heavily attended party March 12 at Hotel Vegas in Austin, which featured more than 10 bands on four stages. A few fans could be seen wearing T-shirts with the phrase “Cumbia is the new punk,” the title of a song by Mexican cumbia fusion group Son Rompe Pera.
Bands mostly from Texas — including the “barrio big band” Bombasta and Latin psych bands like Combo Cósmico and Money Chicha — and the rock-influenced Denver band Ritmo Cascabel played dance music driven by hand percussion, heavy bass lines and guitars drenched in reverb.
Earlier this year, Billboard predicted that cumbia music in all its entirety and subgenres — chicha, sonidera, norteña, villera — would see a massive growth in 2024, citing higher-profile artist collaborations and social media viral hits.
Classical Music Unveils Its Changing Profile
Classical music is most often associated with beautiful concert halls and polite, well-dressed audiences who sit quietly as music is being played. This was not the case for Vulva Voce, an all-female Manchester-based string quartet that played their unique blend of modern classical music at various SXSW stages this year.
Band members wore one-piece jumpsuit coveralls with Doc Martin boots and performed mostly original, high-energy, uptempo compositions to loud crowds at dive bars throughout Austin. They shredded strings and swayed and bounced onstage as if it were a rock show, and said they loved every minute of it. Vulva Voce also performed live with Ash, a Northern Irish rock band whose career in music spans 30 years.
Vulva Voce’s modern approach to classical music comes at a good time. Mid-week, a group of classical music artist managers, lawyers and classical music label executives spoke about classical music’s revival in gaming and soundtracks.
Traditional classical music performance continues to struggle with attendance, but the genre has gained traction on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and has seen a surge in interest in film scores, Netflix soundtracks, video games, and sports broadcasts.
More than 340 new bands played SXSW for the first time this year. Each year, SXSW awards three emerging artists The Grulke Prize, in honor of festival Creative Director Brent Grulke, who passed away in 2012. Sabrina Teitelbaum, who performs as Blondshell, won for developing U.S. act, the South Korean alternative K-pop band Balming Tiger won for developing non-U.S. act, and British psychedelic pop band the Zombies won the career act award
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A crowd of Coachella festival goers on April 24, 2022 in Indio, California.
Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Coachella
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Music Festivals 2024 Guide: Lineups & Dates For Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo & Much More
Festival season is officially upon us, and 2024 is jam-packed with events to remember. Here's a breakdown of the biggest music festivals happening near you, spanning every genre and vibe.
GRAMMYs/Mar 12, 2024 - 09:56 pm
Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 19 to reflect Lollapalooza’s announced lineup.
Down in Austin, South by Southwest has returned — and it's a harbinger of so much to come. SXSW 2024 is the unofficial start of festival season, which kicks off in earnest with Coachella on April 12 in California.
If you're not west of the Mississippi, fear not. Spring, summer and beyond will bring a plethora of can't-miss music bashes, all over the country.
Obviously, it's impossible to cover them all in one post. But GRAMMY.com can provide a cross section, demonstrative of the sheer range of genres at play. So let this list spur you to find all the festivals near you!
Check it out below — and we'll see you stagefront, under the sun! (This list will be continually updated once more info comes out.)
Rolling Loud
Inglewood, California (Mar. 14–17)
All rap fans know Rolling Loud as the summit of hyped — as Billboard once declared, they're "the be-all of hip-hop." The lineup for Miami hasn't been announced yet, but Nicki Minaj, Post Malone and Lil Uzi Vert are confirmed to rock the mic.
Tortuga Music Festival
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Apr. 5–7)
From incredible, cross-genre tunes to important ocean conservation work, Tortuga Music Festival has got it all! This year, don’t miss artists like Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Jason Aldean, and many more.
Coachella
Indio, California (Apr. 12–13 & Apr. 20–21)
Coachella is arguably the mother of them all — and it's coming right up! (Exactly a month from now, at press time.)
Coachella 2024 offers two major reunions, in No Doubt and Sublime — for the latter, Jakob Nowell, son of Bradley, has taken the helm — and attention-grabbing headliners in Lana Del Rey; Tyler, the Creator; and Doja Cat.
Ultra Music Festival
Miami, Florida (Mar. 22–24)
This preeminent haven for electronic music is back, with the cream of the crop from the DJ world — everyone from David Guetta to Elderbrook and beyond will be bringing the heat!
Stagecoach
Indio, California (Apr. 26–28)
Of course, Coachella is a multi-genre festival. But if country is specifically your cup of tea — well, there's another reason to bomb out to the desert.
A week after Coachella's second weekend, Stagecoach will throw down with headliners Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen. The rest of the lineup is highly rangey, with a country essence: Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, and many more will grace the stage.
Breakaway Music Festival
Nationwide (April-October)
Pop, dance, EDM — Breakaway Music Festival has got it all. And it’s probably coming to a city near you; it hits the Midwest, the South and the West Coast.
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans, Louisiana (Apr. 25–May 5)
A massive swath of music contains jazz, and NOLA Jazz Fest underlines this reality every year. The Rolling Stones? Neil Young and Crazy Horse? Doo-wop is baked into them. So on and so forth.
Outside of dyed-in-the-wool jazzers like Samara Joy, Nicholas Payton and Jon Batiste, this year's two-weekend lineup will also feature Foo Fighters, the Revivalists, Queen Latifah, and other greats — as well as Mardi Gras Indians "Big Chief" Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, and a slew of local talent.
Head In The Clouds
Queens New York (May 11–12)
As spring drifts into the summer, don't miss Head in the Clouds if you're in the Northeast; it's chock full of Asian American music and heritage, across a multitude of genres, just in time for AAPI Heritage Month.
Held at Queens' Forest Hills Stadium, Head In The Clouds features (G)I-DLE to Balming Tiger to Spence Lee and others.
BottleRock Napa Valley
Napa, California (May 24–26)
This three-day music, wine, food, and brew fest in the heart of wine country will feature headliners Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam and Ed Sheeran, rounded out by giants like St. Vincent, Queens of the Stone Age, Norah Jones, and many more.
Outlaw Music Festival
Nationwide (June-September 2024)
With the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in the rearview, Bob Dylan is rolling around the Willie Nelson & Family, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Celisse for what will be an unforgettable, legend-stuffed night of music for all.
Bonnaroo
Manchester, Tennessee (June 13–16)
This world-renowned fest outside of Nashville boasts an incredibly vibey lineup for 2024; if you'd like to party to the sounds of Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fred Again.., and dozens more, make a beeline down south this June.
Glastonbury
Somerset, England (June 26–30)
No, it’s not in the United States, but it’s momentous enough to mention anyway. This year, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA, and so many more will perform at the epic Brit blowout.
Essence Festival 2024
New Orleans, Louisiana (July 4–7)
Essence Festival is turning 30! This bastion of Black music, culture and identity will ring in three decades with what's sure to be an outstanding lineup of artists.
Pitchfork Music Festival
Chicago, Illinois (July 19–21)
Artists as varied as Black Pumas, 100 Gecs, Alanis Morrissette, and Brittany Howard will headline the biggest day for the massively influential music site’s in-house fest.
Lollapalooza
Grant Park, Chicago (Aug. 1–4)
The lineup for Lollapalooza has been announced! SZA; Tyler, the Creator; Blink-182, the Killers, Skrillex, and more will headline. Check out the full lineup below.
Hinterland Music Festival
St. Charles, Iowa (Aug. 4-6)
Hinterland won’t just feature some serious indie heavyweights, like Vampire Weekend, Noah Kahan and Orville Peck; it features curiosity-piquing arts and crafts vendors and spectacular camping.
Outside Lands
San Francisco, California (Aug. 9–11)
Ditto the Bay Area favorite — but we do know it's happening from August 9 to 11. Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion and other mighty artists performed last year.
North Coast Music Festival
Chicago, Illinois (Aug. 30–Sept. 1)
Calling all EDM fans: North Coast is bringing Above & Beyond, Subtronics, Sullivan King, and many more to the Windy City in 2024.
Austin City Limits
Austin, Texas (Oct. 4–8, & Oct. 11–13)
No lineup yet for the longest-running music series in TV history — but you can sign up to be the first to know about it.
Aftershock Fest
Real rockers only: Aftershock Festival has been rolling for more than a decade, and its momentum is only building. Topping the bill in 2024 are Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Slipknot, a reunited Slayer… and that's just for starters.
Golden Sky
Sacramento, California (Oct.18–20)
Country music and beer are two of America's pastimes, and Golden Sky will feature the best of both. Come for Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, and so many more, and stay for the brews!
When We Were Young
Las Vegas, Nevada (Oct.19–20)
It's always momentous when the emo kids of yesteryear come back out to play — and if you can believe it, it's almost time for another When We Were Young.
My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Coheed and Cambria, and many more will be there for another helping of Myspace-era sounds — and long-dormant emotions. And they'll be playing the full albums you know and love — just check the poster!
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Tish Melton
Photo: Courtesy of Tish Melton
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Press Play: Watch Tish Melton Preview Debut EP With A Stripped-Down Performance Of "Sober"
Indie pop newcomer — and Brandi Carlile's mentee — Tish Melton premieres "Sober," an emotional track from her upcoming EP, 'When We're Older,' out March 1.
GRAMMYs/Feb 13, 2024 - 07:50 pm
Beneath the empty bottles, Tish Melton wants to know if her love is true; to her, drunken confessions of love mean nothing. It's what happens when the party's over and no one is watching — that's when she sees that person at their most authentic.
"You're standing close/ But you're so far away/ Your eyes are closed/ But you see me anyway," Melton sings on the bridge of her emotional track "Sober." "And I swear you told me you love me on the walk home/ If you meant it, I'll never know/ I think we should stay sober."
In this episode of Press Play, the indie pop newcomer premieres "Sober" with a raw and intimate acoustic performance.
"Sober" is an unreleased track from her upcoming first EP, When We're Older, which arrives on March 1. Melton previously released three singles in 2023, "Damage," "The Chase," and "Michelle."
As she prepares her debut project, Melton already has a major supporter in her corner: nine-time GRAMMY winner Brandi Carlile, who has been a mentor to Melton since recognizing her talent at her debut show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
"Tish is so young and so brilliant," Carlile, who produced When We're Older, revealed in a press statement. "Like most lessons in life, I learned this one while I thought I was teaching it. We should guide youth in music, but there is no question that it should lead."
Watch the video above to hear Tish Melton's honest performance of "Sober," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.
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Tracy Chapman
Photo: Brill/ullstein bild via Getty Images
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6 Artists Influenced By Tracy Chapman: Luke Combs, Brandi Carlile, Tori Amos & More
Three decades after Tracy Chapman’s eponymous first LP hit the shelves, take a look at the artists who owe a debt of gratitude to the 13-time GRAMMY-nominee.
GRAMMYs/Jan 8, 2024 - 02:58 pm
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Monday, Jan. 8, to include mention of Luke Combs and his 2024 GRAMMY nomination.
Renowned for her stripped-back folky sound, social conscience and storytelling abilities, Tracy Chapman has never really fitted into the pop landscape. The singer/songwriter emerged in the late 1980s, a period when big-voiced power balladeers and exuberant teen princesses were all the rage. And throughout the following two decades, the Cleveland native continued to assemble an impressive body of work that remained utterly impervious to fleeting chart trends.
Chapman's determination to carve out her own distinct path has undeniably reaped its rewards. Her self-titled debut album topped the Billboard 200 in 1988, sold 20 million copies and received six GRAMMY nominations; she won three (Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and the coveted Best New Artist). A mid-'90s career resurgence, meanwhile, helped to boost her awards tally, with biggest hit "Give Me A Reason" picking up Best Rock Song.
And whether standing in for Stevie Wonder at Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute Concert or performing "Talkin’ Bout a Revolution" on the eve of the 2020 presidential election, Chapman has used her earthy voice to soundtrack several key historical moments. And the very traditional kind of artist even unwittingly became a viral sensation thanks to a powerful rendition of Ben E. King classic "Stand By Me" in aid of David Letterman's late-night retirement.
Although Chapman hasn't released a studio album since 2008's Our Bright Future, her music has remained an ever-present. From Sam Smith and Justin Bieber, to Passenger and Luke Combs, it's probably quicker to list which contemporary acts haven't covered her defining single "Fast Car" in recent years; dance producer Jonas Blue even took it back into the Hot 100 In 2015. Kelly Clarkson, Black Pumas and Jamila Woods have all paid tribute by tackling different songs from Chapman's remarkably consistent oeuvre, too.
Of course, Chapman's modern-day cachet extends beyond the odd song. Here's a look at five artists who have credited the star as a formative influence on their entire careers.
Luke Combs
By now, an ocean of ink has been spilled about Luke Combs making Tracy Chapman’s "Fast Car" a hit once more — from its racial, sexual, class, gender, and genre dynamics, to whether whitewashing was at play. But with all due respect to the talking heads, the truth is arguably much simpler: when it comes to great singer/songwriters, game recognizes game.
"There was this one song that really stuck out to me. It was called 'Fast Car,'" Combs said onstage last year. “That song meant a lot to me since then — for my whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on and us spending time together.” It’s awfully telling, too, that Combs didn’t flip the gender of the song — a token of respect. He, too, is a "checkout girl."
Decades after its creation, Combs' take on "Fast Car" made a U-turn to the top of the Billboard country charts; at the 2024 GRAMMYs, his version is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance.
"It has stayed with me since I have played it in my live show now for six-plus years and everyone — I mean everyone — across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along," Combs later told Billboard. That’s the gift of a supernatural songwriter." Yes, “Fast Car" is deeply, incontrovertibly human, and earthbound. But Combs reminded us that it’s charged with magic, too. — Morgan Enos
Khalid
Just like Chapman, Khalid racked up a glut of GRAMMY nominations with his debut album, American Teen. And while promoting the record on BBC Radio One's Live Lounge in 2018, the chart-topper doffed his cap to one of its major influences with an acoustic reworking of "Fast Car." An obvious choice, perhaps, but speaking to Forbes later that same year, Khalid insisted that he was far from just a fair-weather fan.
"For me, Tracy Chapman was just someone who inspires me in terms of songwriting," the "Talk" hitmaker revealed. "When I think about songwriting just how she can make you feel like you're in that moment." Chapman was also the first name that came to mind when Khalid was asked about his biggest musical inspiration in our One Take series.
Lisa Marie Presley
The late Lisa Marie Presley took her time following in her father's footsteps, releasing her debut album, To Whom It May Concern, at the relatively late age of 35. But it was the music of singer/songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, Shelby Lynne and, in particular, Tracy Chapman (rather than the rock and roll of Elvis) that informed her sound.
In a 2012 chat to promote third LP Storm and Grace, Presley told Rolling Stone India, "I've never met Tracy, but she's always been a huge influence on me; I don't even know if she knows that. From her first album until everything, she's been such an influence on me as a singer-songwriter."
Presley also referenced Chapman in an interview with the Huffington Post about her musical inspirations, adding, "I love women who sing, and they mean what they're saying, and they reach in and grab you. It moves you. You can feel the singer, and it's for real." And while appearing on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years in 2013, the star selected "Smoke and Ashes" from Chapman's 1995 LP New Beginning as one of her all-time favorites.
Valerie June
"The missing link between Memphis Minnie and Tracy Chapman" is how singer/songwriter Valerie June was once described. No doubt that Chapman, whose sound combines folk-pop with everything from soul and bluegrass to traditional Appalachian music, would have been on board with such comparisons.
June became a die-hard Chapman fan while growing up in Jackson, Tennessee, as she explained to the Washington Post in 2014: "I wanted to perform from probably the age of four or five, but I never believed I could. I saw Tracy Chapman and Whitney Houston and wanted to be like them. But I thought, 'Yeah, no way. They didn't come from a little old place like this.'"
Of course, June did manage to carve a niche for herself in the wider world. She even picked up a Best American Roots Song nod at the 2022 GRAMMYs for "Call Me A Fool," a collaboration with Stax legend Carla Thomas. And one of her proudest career moments was following in Chapman's footsteps by appearing on "Austin City Limits."
Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile has achieved several GRAMMY milestones throughout her glittering career. The Americana favorite was the most-nominated artist at the 2019 ceremony in which she took home three gongs. Then in 2022, she became the first-ever female songwriter to pick up two Song Of The Year nods simultaneously. And the music of Tracy Chapman helped set Carlile on her 24-time nominated path.
Carlile has frequently acknowledged the influence that the "Fast Car" hitmaker has had on her career. While hosting "Somewhere Over the Radio," a SiriusXM show designed to celebrate "queer excellence," the star played one of her most cherished Chapman songs. And during her 2023 A Special Solo Performance tour, she brought out wife Catherine to perform a duet of New Beginning cut "The Promise."
Carlile is such a fan that while responding to a fan on Twitter in the pandemic-hit 2020, she argued that one of the few ways the year could redeem itself was if Chapman dropped a new album.
Tori Amos
Eight-time GRAMMY nominee Tori Amos and Tracy Chapman began their careers in tandem: David Kershenbaum executive produced the eponymous first albums from both the former's short-lived synth-pop outfit Y Kant Tori Read and the latter singer-songwriter around the same time. And the flame-haired pianist was one of the first to recognize that her counterpart was something special.
In a Pitchfork interview about her musical tastes, Amos revealed that Tracy Chapman essentially changed her entire outlook. "It woke me up and took me back to my 5-year-old self, who was creating from a pure place of intention of music being magic, as a place where we could walk into and feel many different things."
Amos subsequently ditched the crop top, leather pants and copious amounts of hairspray and, like Chapman, followed her artistic instincts. When asked by Glamour magazine in 2012 which female artists its younger readers should explore, the "Cornflake Girl" hitmaker didn't hesitate in mentioning her fellow 1988 debutant.
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