Year in Review: So, How Was Your 2020, Brandi Carlile?

So, How Was Your 2020? is a series in which our favorite entertainers answer our questionnaire about the music, culture and memorable moments that shaped their year. We’ll be rolling these pieces out throughout December.

Brandi Carlile had been riding a wave of successes in early 2020 when the pandemic hit. Her album By the Way, I Forgive You helped her win three Grammys, she joined the supergroup the Highwomen to record an album, and oversaw the triumphant return of Tanya Tucker on While I’m Livin’ all in the space of a couple years.

Being off the road for the first time in ages forced Carlile to slow down, spend more time with her family, and work on other projects. One of those is her new memoir Broken Horses, which will be released in April 2021. In our year-end survey, Carlile tells us about getting a new boat and why Joni Mitchell is a go-to source of comfort.

The album I listened to the most in 2020 was:
Saturn Return, The Secret Sisters

My favorite TV show to stream during quarantine was:
Alone

The song that will define “2020” for me is:
“Mad World”

I’d define my current state of mind as:
Open

The viral video I kept coming back to in quarantine was:
Duranice Pace singing “I’ll Always Be Thankful”

The old-favorite album I returned to for comfort this year was:
Joni Mitchell’s Blue

The old-favorite movie I returned to for comfort this year was:
The Neverending Story 

A new hobby I picked up in quarantine was:
Shrimping

The celebrity I’d most want to quarantine with is:
Elton John

The most interesting thing I learned to cook during quarantine was:
Smoking meats

The best book I read in quarantine was:
Untamed 

Something positive that happened to me that nobody noticed was:
I got a Captain’s license and bought a fishing boat that I’ve been dreaming about my whole life

The mistake I learned the most from this year was:
Taking my job for granted

The biggest hero of 2020 was:
Stacey Abrams

A word or phrase I never want to hear again is:
Let that sink in

The thing I’m least looking forward to in 2021 is:
Losing the quarantine weight

The thing I’m most looking forward to doing when the pandemic is over is:
Playing Red Rocks, the Gorge, and Madison Square Garden

My biggest hope for 2021 is:
To be a New York Times best-selling author