Brandi Carlile

When Brandi Carlile appeared on the cover of GO in 2015, she spoke about her latest album, “The Firewatcher’s Daughter”—which would earn the artist her first Grammy nomination—her family life, and the warm welcome she’d received as a gay artist in the Americana music community. “All this inclusiveness for a gay girl in country music,” she said, “has been a sign of beautiful things to come for the LGBTQ country music contingency.”  She was right. This past year has been Carlile’s biggest yet. Her sixth studio album, “By the Way, I Forgive You,” dropped in 2018 and earned her four Grammy nominations, winning for Best Americana Album, Best American Song, and Best Americana Performance (the last two for her single, “The Joke”). “Americana music is the island of misfit toys, and I am such a misfit,” she said in one of three acceptance speeches of the night, adding that after she came out at 15, she’d never been invited to a party or a dance. “To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been the dance of a lifetime.” —RK