Brandi Carlile at MSG
Sachyn Mital

Mavis Staples & 3/4 of The Highwomen joined Brandi Carlile at MSG (pics, video, setlist)

Carlile’s emotional greeting was just one of several unforgettable moments at her MSG debut, which featured a career-spanning selection of signature songs, highlights from her already-classic 2018 album By the Way, I Forgive You, a feel-good duet with opening act Mavis Staples, and, not least, a surprise mini-set from the Highwomen (minus Maren Morris, who “couldn’t be here but sent us booze,” according to Carlile).

Carlile’s show was yet one more icing-on-the-cake achievement for the 38-year-old singer-songwriter, who over the past 18 months has catapulted from longtime road-warrior fan favorite to Grammy-winning superstar. Carlile made sure to take stock of the evening throughout, repeatedly kissing the floor of the MSG stage before positing, just before her stunning show-closer “Party of One,” that she was perhaps about to be wrapping up “the longest show [she’s] ever played.”

Brandi Carlile played her biggest NYC headlining show yet on Saturday (9/14) as she headlined Madison Square Garden with a set that pulled from largely from her most recent album, 2018’s By The Way, I Forgive You, but also included plenty of older tracks, some covers, and a few guest appearances: namely, opener Mavis Staples, who came out for “Friendship” and stayed for “Highwomen,” the title track of the new album from Brandi’s eponymous new supergroup. Three quarters of the band, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby, and Brandi, convened for a mini Highwomen set midway through the show, with only Maren Morris missing.

Check out pictures from Saturday night’s show in the gallery above, and find the setlist, and some fan-taken video clips, below.

Setlist: Brandi Carlile at Madison Square Garden, 9/14/2019 (via)
Hold Out Your Hand
Wherever is Your Heart
Hard Way Home
The Story
Friendship (with Mavis Staples)
Highwomen (with Mavis Staples, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby)
If She Ever Leaves Me (with Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby)
Redesigning Women (with Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby)
The Eye
Raise Hell
Fulton County Jane Doe
A Case of You (Joni Mitchell cover)
Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You (Anne Bredon cover)
The Mother
The Joke
Pride and Joy

Encore:
Mainstream Kid
Party of One

photos by Sachyn Mital