A lot of folks don’t know Brandi Carlile, which is a shame. I’ve been listening to her for a few years now, featuring her music here several times. She’s a wonderful talent. This year, no other artist was there for me as much as she was, in good times and in bad.

Early in the year, her live cover of The Beatles’ “I Just Saw A Face” perfectly captured the wonder and joy I felt when I looked at the woman I loved…

Then, when that romance crumbled to ash, Brandi was there…

Her lyrics and her passionate, gorgeous voice echoed the pain I was feeling, while their beauty gave me something to hold on to…

Later, when circumstances forced me to lose touch with another beloved friend (I’ll be blogging cryptically about her soon), once again I found myself playing Brandi’s songs as the soundtrack to my life…

Brandi helped me survive a really rough year, full of loss and despair. Hopefully the next time she gets to Atlanta, I’ll manage to get to the show. But there’s no question I’ll keep buying her stuff, and playing the hell out of it. You should too.

Thank you, Brandi.