Brandi Carlile Releases CHURCH & STATE (SAD GAY VERSION) Track

Brandi Carlile has shared a reimagined version of her song 'Church & State,' released today. Carlile said of the track, 'If 'Church & State' is a rallying cry for a world where one is free to believe what they choose, then the Sad Gay Version is a deep mourning for those who haven't had the chance to live in such times yet - and for all those who fight to ensure we can continue to believe, love, and share life together on our own terms, without consequence. Without interference.'

The track is the second unveiled from Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version), an expanded edition of Carlile's album Returning To Myself, out digitally on September 25 via Interscope Records/Lost Highway. 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.

Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version) features reworked versions of all ten songs from the original album, with Carlile returning to Long Pond Studio to co-produce four tracks with Aaron Dessner. The collection includes a collaboration with composer and electronic musician Jon Hopkins on 'Human (Sad Gay Version),' as well as a new version of Billy Joel's 'And So It Goes' exclusively on digital streaming platforms.

The project follows the recent release of Carlile's 'Be Human: A Concert For Minneapolis' in full on YouTube. Filmed during Carlile's sold-out show at Minneapolis' Target Center, 'Be Human' has raised over $750,000 to date for The Advocates for Human Rights via Carlile's Looking Out Foundation. The show includes a special performance of 'It's Okay to Change Your Mind' with Minneapolis' Singing Resistance as well as Carlile and The Head and the Heart joining forces for Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida.'

Carlile kicked off the second leg of her extensive 'The Human Tour' last month, which includes upcoming stops at 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 for an extensive run this spring and will headline All Things Go NYC and All Things Go D.C. this month.

Carlile was recently honored as one of TIME's 2026 Women of the Year and performed 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.

Brandi Carlile is an Oscar-nominee, 11x Grammy-winner, 2x Emmy-winner and #1 New York Times Bestselling author. Throughout her career, Carlile has released eight studio albums including Who Believes in Angels?, her 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.

Carlile is also a producer with recent Grammy-winning projects from Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark. She 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. 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, and was 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 funds to preserve and protect national parks 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

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 The Head and The Heart

+with special guest Stephen Wilson Jr.

**with special guest CMAT

††with special guest KT Tunstall

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