Watch Brandi Carlile's brilliant performances from her 'Saturday Night Live' debut
by Luke Taylor
October 25, 2021
Late Saturday, Brandi Carlile made her Saturday Night Live debut, and she wasted no time leaping right into viewers’ living rooms with a rocking, rip-roaring rendition of "Broken Horses" from her brand-new album, In These Silent Days. In his review of the album, The Current's Bill DeVille praised "Broken Horses" for its '70s country-rock sound, declaring "This one is my favorite, and it's one of the album's highlights."
The song certainly became a program highlight on SNL, with Carlile belting out vocals and whipping her hair in an ironclad-rocker fever, and bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth echoed the rock vibes, ripping through guitar and bass lines, respectively, while standing toe to toe. When the song finished, Carlile beamed up at the audience in Studio 8H, punctuating the moment by triumphantly pumping her fist in the air and shouting "Yeah!"
For her second song, Carlile performed In These Silent Days' lead single, "Right on Time." She began the song seated at a piano under an awning of four spotlights, taking the first verse solo with piano and microphone, her vocal sustain at the end of the first chorus eliciting calls of appreciation from the audience.
The second verse saw Carlile rise from the piano to pick up her guitar, the delicate studio mix highlighting the shared vocal harmonies among Carlile and the Hanseroths. After the second chorus, Carlile and Tim Hanseroth dug in hard on the guitars, with Carlile even taking a few Pete Townshend-esque brushes in the air, just before she hammered home the vocal crescendo in the final chorus, echoing her brilliant performance of the song at the Americana Honors & Awards back on September 22. But the Saturday Night Live performance was one for the books as the song concluded and Carlile bowed, chucked her pick stage right and stood smiling, absorbing the roaring adulation from the audience.
The performances certainly connected with the audience in Studio 8H, and inspired Melissa Etheridge to tweet, "Well done! You rocked it, girl!"
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