Brandi Carlile is bringing her freewheeling, fan-powered Burn the Setlist Tour home to the Seattle area with four shows at the Paramount Theatre in January—and is the latest big-name artist requesting no phones at her shows.
The Washington-born singer announced Monday that she will close out the tour with performances on January 5, 6, 9 and 10, joined by longtime bandmates and close friends Tim and Phil Hanseroth. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday through stgpresents.org, following presales for members of Carlile’s fan club.
The announcement comes as welcome news for local fans who were disappointed when WA native Carlile initially revealed a limited series of all-request concerts at select theaters nationwide without including Seattle. Carlile was born in Ravensdale, about 30 miles outside Seattle, and attended Tacoma High School before leaving to pursue a career in music.
The four-night hometown-area engagement will give the climax of her latest tour a personal touch. The tour begins November 5 in Portland. The remaining dates were announced last month and promptly sold out.
The concept grew out of Carlile’s recent arena tour, where she and the Hanseroth brothers incorporated a handful of audience requests into each night’s performance. The approach was intended to recapture the intimacy and spontaneity of their early, small-venue shows, even while playing to much larger crowds.
With Burn the Setlist, the trio is taking that philosophy to its fullest expression. Rather than building a conventional concert around a predetermined lineup, Carlile will create each night’s set entirely from fan requests, drawing songs from throughout her catalog as well as her album Returning to Myself. The result promises a different musical experience at every performance, with both the audience and the musicians left to discover what comes next.
To preserve that in-the-moment atmosphere, the concerts will be phone-free. Attendees must secure their phones and other electronic devices in locked Yondr pouches during the show, a system also used at recent phone-free performances such as Phoebe Bridgers’ appearance at Climate Pledge Arena last week.
For Seattle fans, the four Paramount dates offer a chance to see Carlile bring her roots, her catalog, and her audience together for a homecoming full of spontaneity and connection.
