Brandi Carlile and Lucius Light Up The Stage At Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Grammy-slaying rockstar, Brandi Carlile, dazzled Marriweather Post-Pavilion with her sparkly jacket and incredible energy on Friday night. She brought both the seat ticket holders and the lawn ticket dwellers to their feet, moving everyone to dance. Brandi was humbled by how big of a crowd gathered to hear her beautiful performance on Friday night. She said several times, “I can’t believe how big this show is! No one deserves this.” Oh, but she deserves it.

Brandi Carlile was framed by the Hanseroth twins, who wore matching all-black outfits and white cowboy hats. Phil and Tim Hanseroth have been writing music with Carlile from the beginning, and on Friday night they showed the audience that they aren’t afraid to rock out with Carlile on stage. There was a beautiful mini orchestra composed four people in the back righthand corner of the stage that also harmonized with Carlile on backup vocals. Brandi sang older songs, such as “The Story,” several from her latest album, “By The Way I Forgive You,” and a gorgeous cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.”

Brani Carlile and the Hanseroth Twins at Merriweather Post Pavilion, June 2019
Photography by Shannon Gillen

A highlight of the show that left my skin rough with goosebumps was when Brandi Carlile brought Lucius, the opening act for Carlile, on stage to gather around the mic to sing “Dusty Trails.” This was a tender musical moment in which the three shared the mic for a song that exceeded the audience’s expectations and ignited a standing ovation.

Lucius at Merriweather Post Pavilion, June 2019
Photography by Shannon Gillen

Lucius took the stage wearing matching neon green, fringed cloaks that were bedazzled at the sleeves. Their Berkeley-trained voices awed the crowd as they sang and swayed with their glittery palms reached out toward the audience. Lucius’s set was much more simplistic than usual. Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig shared the mic at the center of the stage, only to bring out their wooden instruments and dance around the stage toward the end of their set. They mostly sang songs from their first album, my personal favorite, “Wildewoman.” If you haven’t yet given Lucius a listen, check out this tour video of the song,”Wildewoman,” to get a taste of this amazing band!