Photo Courtesy Pete Souza/Sacks & Co
The Caverns, one of Tennessee’s most uniquely spectacular music venues, will present Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and performer Brandi Carlile in her first hour-long national PBS special, Brandi Carlile in concert: A BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND Special, premiering this Friday, August 3 at 10:00 PM ET (check local listings). Watch a preview of the episode HERE.
Described as, “an Adele-meets-Joni Mitchell tour de force” by Rolling Stone, Carlile commands a fast growing and devoted following spanning genres and generations. On an April night on the Cumberland Plateau, 1,000 of her luckiest fans became part of a concert experience that no one in The Caverns, including the night’s star herself, will soon forget.
“It’s perfect harmony to play the music of nature from within it,” Carlile said after the taping. She joked that she only wants to play caves now, but was dead serious about how special the experience was, likening BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND at The Caverns to a, “much more intimate” version of Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Carlile’s BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND concert features songs from throughout her celebrated 13-year recording career, including material from her new album, By The Way, I Forgive You. Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings and released earlier this year to overwhelming acclaim, the album was recently named “Album of the Year” by Elton John on his Rocket Hour radio show on Beats 1 on Apple Music.
Carlile happily shares the spotlight with The Caverns and its combination of stunning natural beauty and crystalline acoustics, a natural sound she had long heard in her head. “It was really incredible after 15 years of trying to re-create that sound in the studio…to hear it occur naturally in The Caverns,” she said.
Carlile, playing guitar and piano, is backed by her ace band featuring her longtime musical partners, the Hanseroth Twins—Phil on bass and Tim on guitar. The group is augmented by a lush string section, bringing greater depth and nuance to new and classic material alike, including a cover of Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water.”
Throughout her performance, Carlile shares deeply personal stories of parenting, marriage, divorce, religion, love and loss—stories of forgiveness and reconciliation, fashioned from and for our time.
Self-taught, Washington-raised and nominated for three 2018 Americana Music Awards, Carlile is identified not only for her powerful writing and music, but also for her activism, advocacy and humanitarian work.
Songs from Carlile’s BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND set include:
“Every Time I Hear That Song”
“The Eye”
“The Mother”
“The Joke”
“Have You Ever”
“Madman Across The Water”
“The Story”
“Whatever You Do”
“Party of One”
“Hold Out Your Hand”
About Bluegrass Underground
Produced by Todd Squared Productions (Todd Mayo and Todd Jarrell) and presented by WCTE Upper Cumberland PBS, BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND is a musical adventure series of discovery that shines a light on the quality and diversity of music from the heart of the American experience.
For ten years Bluegrass Underground has presented a stellar list of artists curated from the heart of the American experience, hosting the best of Roots-Rock, Jam Band, R&B, Gospel, Indie-Folk, Soul and, yes…even Bluegrass! BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND’s 8th season premiere’s in September on PBS stations across the country. BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND is filmed at The Caverns, in Pelham Tennessee.
About The Caverns
For millions of years, crystal waters have been eroding Tennessee’s porous limestone from within, riddling the state with the highest concentration of caves in North America. Entrepreneur and music promoter Todd Mayo had long sought a unique yet accessible live concert venue. He finally found it—underground.
Nestled in Tennessee’s rural Pelham Valley, the majestic Caverns deep room features a broad arched ceiling bristling with stalactites silently formed over millions of years. Equipped with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, a soundproof ceiling, and the baffling of a billion stone surfaces, The Caverns’ musical adventure promises audiences one of the most acoustically pure natural spaces on (or under) Earth.
More at pbs.org/bluegrassunderground andFacebook.com/bluegrassunderground
