Americana-folk artist Brandi Carlile preaches forgiveness on new album, performs at Riverside Theater June 17

I forgive you for deciding not to baptize me when I was a teenager for being gay, Americana-folk-singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile writes in an open letter to her childhood pastor. what I want you to know most of all is that you did not damage my faith. Not in god, not in humanity and not in myself.

Carlile signs off the open letter with the hashtag #ByTheWayIForgiveYou, spawning a miniature #MeToo-inspired movement of fans sharing their stories of forgiveness. The letter was originally intended to open up a discussion around radical forgiveness, paving the way for the release of her seventh studio album By the Way, I Forgive You on February 16, 2018. The massive response Carlile got from fans sharing their stories of forgiveness took her by surprise.

Carlile s open letter is reflective of her career as a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who has not only garnered a variety of accolades for her music but has dedicated her career to helping others, spreading her contagious faith in humanity that even her traumatic childhood experience couldn t take from her. As an openly-gay musician with a wife and two daughters, her mainstream success as an LGBTQ artist and personal music has empowered fans and her performances offer a space for the LGBTQ community to feel at home. Her fans adore her for not just the deeply personal music that she makes, but for her progressive outreach and outspoken activism.

In 2008, Carlile founded the Looking Out Foundation with fellow musicians Tim and Phil Hanseroth. Working together with fans, nonprofits and corporations, the foundation s mission is amplifying music as a voice in activism. The foundation backs an ever-changing lineup of campaigns such as Fight The Fear and The If Project including a donation of $1 for every concert ticket sold by Carlile and the Hanseroths. Her album Cover Stories a benefit album released in 2017 that features artists such as Dolly Parton and Pearl Jam covering songs from Brandile s 2007 album The Story has helped raise over $250,000 for War Child UK.

Carliles latest album became the highest charting album of her career, reaching number five on the Billboard 200. The lead single off the album, The Joke, was inspired by the marches and protests that Carlile attended in the wake of Hillary Clinton s loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The Mother is a heart-warming perspective on Carlile s relationship with her daughter that is sure to resonate with parents of all backgrounds. Fulton County Jane Doe and Sugartooth are stories connected to the global migration crises and the opioid epidemic, proving that there are few issues that Carlile isn't paying attention to.

For Hold Out Your Hand, Carlile pairs the song with a montage of March For Our Lives demonstrations in Seattle mixed with footage of her performing at an anti-gun rally. This is the way I would want my daughters to communicate and this is a generation I am in complete support of, Carlile says in a statement.

By the Way, I Forgive You is a deeply personal record that contextualizes political and social issues through the perspective of Carlile s experiences and storytelling. Her powerful voice has been compared to Janis Joplin and Melissa Etherdige, calling upon elements of folk, blues and Americana, and many fans are calling for the day that Carlile finally takes home a Grammy. As far as 2018 goes, By the Way, I Forgive You is certainly an early contender. Fans in Wisconsin will get the chance to see Carlile perform at Riverside Theater on June 17 with special guest Secret Sisters whose 2017 album You Don t Own Me Anymore was produced by Carlile and nominated for the Grammy for Best Folk Album.

To purchase tickets, visit www.pabsttheater.org.