Brandi Carlile’s Phenomenal Weekend at the Gorge Showed Why We Don’t Just Need Joni Mitchell Back, but Lilith Fair, Too
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic No one could deny that there were star-driven aspects to this past weekend of shows at one of America’s most beloved outdoor venues, the Gorge, all of them headlined or organized by Brandi Carlile. That was apparent soon enough for anyone driving out of Seattle-Takoma Airport to make the three-hour drive to the remote amphitheater in the middle of Washington state, as the freeways were dotted with cars with “Brandi or Bust!” (or messages about the “Bramily”) emblazoned on their rear windshields. And Carlile wasn’t the biggest star appearing over the three nights. No one lords over a cult of personality right now, actively or passively, quite like Joni Mitchell. Not so very long ago, Mitchell was more or less seen as one boomer icon among many, yet she has somehow just in the past few years graduated — with no campaigning on her part, but with valuable microbursts of assistance from Carlile — to being arguably the most revered North American singer-songwriter of any generation. Bob Dylan can only be looking on a little jealously at how his old friend and rival has kind of quietly been pushed ahead of him in the line, even as she did not much more than stay out of sight and work to recover from a debilitating aneurysm.