Brandi Carlile to Release RETURNING TO MYSELF (Sad Gay Version)
Aaron Dessner co-produced four tracks for the reimagined ten-song collection at Long Pond Studio.
Brandi Carlile plans to release an expanded digital edition of her album RETURNING TO MYSELF, titled RETURNING TO MYSELF (SAD GAY VERSION), via Interscope Records and Lost Highway. The deluxe set reimagines all ten songs from the original album, with Carlile returning to Long Pond Studio to co-produce four tracks alongside Aaron Dessner. The collection features a collaboration with Jon Hopkins on the song HUMAN and includes a new version of Billy Joel's AND SO IT GOES available exclusively on digital streaming platforms. Ahead of the full release, Carlile has released the track HUMAN (FEAT. Jon Hopkins) (SAD GAY VERSION).
An exclusive signed rainbow vinyl edition of the deluxe album is available to those who pre-order by October 1, with orders set to ship on December 11. This is a special one-time pressing and will only be available on Carlile's website.
Of the project, Carlile shares: 'When I was a teenager, I loved to toy with my own emotions by actively seeking out songs in a genre that very few are willing to call by its rightful name. The 'Sad Gay' genre. You don't have to actually be gay to let it break your heart into a thousand pieces, it will do that against your will. I would sit at the edge of my bed and listen to 'Everybody Hurts' by R.E.M., 'Language Or the Kiss' by the Indigo Girls, or watch Sinead O' Connor singing 'Nothing Compares 2 U' while that single black and white tear ran down her face. I'd listen to Kate Bush singing 'This Woman's Work,' Tracy Chapman's 'The Promise,' the Philadelphia soundtrack, the City of Angelssoundtrack. I would do this just to feel myself spiral into pure emotional self-indulgence in ways only music like this could permit, making me a very sad gay. Returning To Myself has been such a profound journey. It's taken me to places I never imagined and taught me a lot about my disdain for the solitary, as well as my own ridiculous pattern of self-avoidance. Long may it continue. I reimagined this album in this way because I want to be brought back to the edge of my bed again and I want to bring you with me. I rebuilt the whole thing for you and for myself. This one is for us… the sad gays wherever you are. This is Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version)…'
Adding to yet another monumental year, Carlile kicks off the second leg of her extensive 'The Human Tour' tonight with a sold-out show at Portland, ME's Cross Insurance Arena, followed by later stops at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre (three nights), Fort Worth's Dickies Arena, Austin's Moody Center and Santa Barbara's Santa Barbara Bowl among many others. She will also return to the U.K and Europe an extensive run this spring and headline All Things Go NYC and All Things Go D.C. in September.
Earlier this year, Carlile also hosted 'Be Human: A Concert For Minneapolis,' a sold-out performance at Minneapolis' Target Center that raised over $750K for The Advocates for Human Rights. Furthermore, Carlile was honored as one of TIME's 2026 Women of the Year and performed 'gorgeous' (Billboard) renditions of 'America The Beautiful' at Super Bowl LX and as part of ABC News' America 250 celebration. She also returned to NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert series and NBC's Saturday Night Live as musical guest for the fourth time, was featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Las Culturistas, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Howard Stern Show, NPR's Wild Card with Rachel Martin and The Drew Barrymore Show, and spoke with The New York Times for an in-depth profile.
One of music's most respected voices, Brandi Carlile is an Oscar-nominee, 11x Grammy-winner, 2x EMMY-winner and #1 New York Times Bestselling author. Throughout her acclaimed career, Carlile has released eight studio albums including Who Believes in Angels?, the collaborative album with Elton John, which debuted at #1 in the U.K. and top 10 in the U.S. She received her first Oscar nomination in the Original Song category in January 2025 for 'Never Too Late,' a Grammy-nominated track written alongside Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt for the Disney+ documentary of the same name. Additionally, Carlile is a renowned producer with recent Grammy-winning projects from Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark. She also produced and recorded a rendition of Indigo Girls' 'Closer To Fine' with her wife, Catherine, which was included on Barbie The Album as well as a version of 'Home,' which was featured in the final season of Ted Lasso, while her song 'You Without Me' was featured twice in the season three finale of Apple TV's Shrinking.
Beloved by her peers, Carlile has worked with artists such as Soundgarden, Sam Smith, Alicia Keys, Hozier, Noah Kahan, P!nk and Dolly Parton, was named OUT Magazine's Icon of the Year, awarded Billboard's Women In Music Trailblazer Award and NMPA's Songwriter Icon Award as well as multiple awards from the Americana Music Association. She also launched a partnership with the National Park Foundation to raise critical funds to preserve and protect these cherished places across the country and is a founder of the Looking Out Foundation, which has raised over $10M for grassroots causes to date. Carlile lives in rural Washington state with her wife and two daughters.
Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version) Digital Track List
1. Returning To Myself
2. Human
3. A Woman Oversees
4. A War With Time
5. Anniversary
6. Church & State
7. Joni
8. You Without Me
9. No One Knows Us
10. A Long Goodbye
11. Human (feat. Jon Hopkins) (Sad Gay Version)
12. Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version)
13. You Without Me (Sad Gay Version)
14. No One Knows Us (Sad Gay Version)
15. Anniversary (Sad Gay Version)
16. And So It Goes (Sad Gay Version)
17. A Woman Oversees (Sad Gay Version)
18. Church & State (Sad Gay Version)
19. A War With Time (Sad Gay Version)
20. Joni (Sad Gay Version)
21. A Long Goodbye (Sad Gay Version)
Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version) Vinyl Track List
Side A
1. Human (feat. Jon Hopkins) (Sad Gay Version)
2. Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version)
3. You Without Me (Sad Gay Version)
4. No One Knows Us (Sad Gay Version)
5. Anniversary (Sad Gay Version)
Side B
1. A Woman Oversees (Sad Gay Version)
2. Church & State (Sad Gay Version)
3. A War With Time (Sad Gay Version)
4. Joni (Sad Gay Version)
5. A Long Goodbye (Sad Gay Version)
Brandi Carlile Upcoming Tour Dates
August 13—Portland, ME—Cross Insurance Arena* (SOLD OUT)
August 14—Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun Arena*
August 16—Bethel, NY—Bethel Woods Center for the Arts*
August 18—Lenox, MA—Tanglewood – Koussevitzky Music Shed*
August 20—Canandaigua, NY—CMAC#
August 21—Rochester Hills, MI—Meadow Brook Amphitheatre#
August 23—Grand Rapids, MI—Acrisure Amphitheater#
August 24—Madison, WI—Breese Stevens Field#
August 26—Highland Park, IL—The Pavilion at Ravinia#
August 29—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena^
September 1—Charlotte, NC—Spectrum Center§
September 3—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena§
September 5—Fort Worth, TX—Dickies Arena§
September 6—Austin, TX—Moody Center§
September 11—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre+ (SOLD OUT)
September 12—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre+ (SOLD OUT)
September 13—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre+ (SOLD OUT)
September 17—Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena**
September 19—Stanford, CA—Frost Amphitheater** (SOLD OUT)
September 20—Santa Barbara, CA—Santa Barbara Bowl** (SOLD OUT)
September 22—San Diego, CA—The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park** (SOLD OUT)
September 26—Forest Hills, NY—All Things Go NYC
September 27—Columbia, MD—All Things Go DC
January 14-18—Riviera Maya, Mexico—Girls Just Wanna Weekend 8
March 23—Oslo, Norway—Oslo Spektrum††
March 24—Stockholm, Sweden—Annexet††
March 26—Copenhagen, Denmark—DR Koncerthuset††
March 27—Cologne, Germany—Palladium††
March 30—Paris, France—La Seine Musicale††
March 31—Zurich, Switzerland—The Hall††
April 2—Amsterdam, Netherlands—AFAS Live††
April 4—Dublin, Ireland—3Arena††
April 6—Glasgow, U.K.—SEC Armadillo††
April 7—Glasgow, U.K.—SEC Armadillo††
April 9—Manchester, U.K.—O2 Apollo††
April 10—Manchester, U.K.—O2 Apollo††
April 11—Wolverhampton, U.K.—The Halls††
April 13—London, U.K.—Eventim Apollo††
April 14—London, U.K.—Eventim Apollo††
April 23-25—Miramar Beach, FL—Moon Crush 'Pink Moon' 2027
*with special guest Jensen McRae
#with special guest I'm With Her
^with special guest Gregory Alan Isakov
§with special guest The Head and The Heart
+with special guest Stephen Wilson Jr.
**with special guest CMAT
††with special guest KT Tunstall
A signed rainbow vinyl edition of the deluxe album is being offered for pre-order for a limited time through Carlile's website, with orders expected to ship later in the year.
