Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile, the Out100’s Icon of the Year, is a leading voice for LGBTQ+ people in culture.

Before the world went sideways in 2020, Carlile performed a soaring rendition of her Grammy-winning song “The Joke” at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Since that career tipping point — she recorded her first studio album in 2005 — Carlile’s reach has been boundless. She thinks Pink, whom she toured with this year, is the “hardest working woman in show business.” But Carlile is also tireless. She’s a wife to Catherine Shepherd and a mom to their daughters, Evangeline and Elijah. She’s a performer, collaborator, producer, cofounder of the Looking Out Foundation nonprofit and XOBC Wine Cellars, and author of the memoir Broken Horses. She even has a hobby of finish carpentry.

Carlile calls herself a “witness” when she’s onstage looking out at collective joy and sometimes grief — like her concerts at L.A.’s Greek Theatre after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. In those instances, many view her as someone to provide hope, healing, and an acknowledgment of dark times.

Read Carlile’s full Out100 cover story here.