Brandi Carlile

Carlile said she keeps her Grammys on top of the 1900 upright piano she has owned since age 18 and writes many songs on.

“I keep them all on top of my piano that I've had since I was 18. It's a 1900 upright old granny piano”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 26:08

Carlile recounted that her father dropped her off at a lake for a fight with two boys, which ended with them playing baseball together.

“we did get into a scuffle, and one of them fell in the lake, and we wound up playing the game of baseball”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 25:25

Carlile said her family did not rely solely on hunted game but that some elk and deer were shot from the window of their home.

“there were definitely a few elk and deer shot from the window”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 23:48

Carlile said she is frequently rebuffed, even by close friends.

“I've had moments, even with my closest friends, where they've been like, oh, piss off, Brandy”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 23:14

Carlile said she is not shy about approaching people she admires and believes life is too short not to befriend people you respect.

“Life is too short to not be friends and to get close with people you respect”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 22:57

Carlile says she is driven but not competitive, and feels happy for others who beat her for awards within seconds.

“I'm driven, but I'm not competitive”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:04:57

Carlile describes Elton John as having reached iconic status without narcissism and as genuinely curious about other people.

“maybe the most iconic status that you can possibly reach with absolutely no trace of narcissism”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 41:19

Carlile says she still experiences fan-like awe with her heroes and that staying in touch with it keeps her accountable to her audience.

“staying in touch with that part of myself keeps me honest in my responsibility within my job”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 40:34

Carlile contends one onstage mistake makes an audience rally behind a performer, while two suggests a lack of preparation.

“So one mistake does that in a performance or a song. Two mistakes is like she's not prepared”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 32:14

Carlile argues performers need a lack of contextual intelligence and a repetition of stupidity that lets them shrug off failures.

“it's like that repetition of stupidity is what gives us our gift”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 30:31

Carlile says she is confident about singing regardless of stakes but fears the spoken moments between songs.

“It's the 15 seconds in between the songs of what I have to say in that moment. That's what I'm afraid of”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 21:20

Carlile argued that Elton John cannot choose friends based on who is a fan, since he would have none otherwise.

“when you're Elton John, you can't decide to choose friends based on who's a fan and knows your music”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 22:01

Carlile said she was a massive Elton John fan as a teenager and dressed as him for singing competitions and Halloween.

“Many singing competitions and also Halloween. And I went to school with the homemade Elton John jewelry”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Brandi Carlile helps us say goodbye to Bill Kurtis! (May 23, 2026) · Listen from 21:01

Carlile says the first thing she did after earning money was buy everyone she knew a Tempur-Pedic mattress, some of them financed.

“The very first thing I did when I made any money was buy every single person I know a mattress”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 56:13

Carlile says her bedtime routine involves a heating pad, a melatonin gummy and a nightly debrief with her wife that she considers head-cleansing.

“I get on the heating pad and I take a melatonin gummy. Nice. And I talk with my wife and we do the debrief of the day”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 54:42

Carlile describes spending a day off doing trim carpentry in silence with an old bandmate as her preferred form of companionship.

“I had the day off yesterday and I just spent six hours caulking window trim”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 15:25

Carlile says she finds the idea of a multi-day silent retreat appalling.

“It just really turns me off. Me too. I just find that appalling. I do. It's like, what? Eight days of no talking?”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 14:00

Carlile names Tommy Boy, Bridesmaids, Tenacious D films and Sisters as her go-to comedies and says she never misses SNL.

“I mean, I love Tommy Boy. Oh my God. I love... Tommy Boy. I mean, Bridesmaids. Everything Tenacious D. I loved Sisters”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:06:38

Carlile says her daughters are more interested in her fame and in how her music intersects with politics than in her singing.

“They're more interested in the fact that I'm a little bit famous than whether I'm a good or bad singer. And they're very interested right now in the way my music interfaces with politics”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:09

Carlile says she wants to make another Highwomen project, partly so her daughters can watch the group work.

“it's something I think we should do again”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 1:00:40

Carlile says she felt she stepped into her authentic self when she cut her hair.

“without even thinking about it, said when I cut my hair,”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 48:24

Carlile recounts persuading a late-night show to allow a retake after teenage singer Benicio Bryant froze, turning the failure into a triumph.

“that mistake, that failure, that moment of, you know, catastrophe turned into like a total triumph”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 46:56

Carlile says she enjoys each year of getting older more than being younger and would picture the last five years if her life flashed before her.

“Every year I get older, I love being older more than I loved being younger”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 37:04

Carlile recounts telling a Las Vegas audience she would do a 'cock push-up' after a fall, assuming they had all seen The Pick of Destiny.

“Nobody knew why Brandy was telling, you know, a couple thousand middle-aged lesbians that she was going to do a cock push-up”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 36:06

Carlile recalls that her first stage appearance at age eight, singing 'Tennessee Flat Top Box' at the Northwest Grand Ole Opry, convinced her performing was where she belonged.

“This is the safest, most understood and loved place I could, I could ever, I could ever be like, this is my job now”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 28:39

Carlile says she first heard the Indigo Girls on the 'Philadelphia' soundtrack and was struck by voices that sounded neither male nor female and aimed at a different audience.

“Well, I heard their voices first in that film, Philadelphia. They were covering that Rod Stewart”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Brandi Carlile (Mar 31, 2026) · Listen from 22:21