Brandi Carlile's Setlist-Free Tour Is More Than a Gimmick—It's Real
When you let the crowd write the show, magic actually shows up.
Brandi Carlile is running an experiment that could've easily been a cheap stunt. Instead, it's turning into something genuinely moving.
On her current "Burn the Setlist!" tour, she's letting audiences request songs on the fly—no prepared setlist, no safety net. That kind of thing can go sideways real quick. But Carlile's pulling it off because she's got the chops, the catalog, and most importantly, she actually respects what happens when you hand control to the people in the room.
The magic isn't in the gimmick itself. It's in that unfiltered exchange between an artist who knows her craft and an audience that gets to shape the experience in real time. There's vulnerability on both sides. Carlile's not leaning on a crutch; she's meeting people where they are. That breeds a different kind of intimacy than a buttoned-up tour ever could.
It's a short run—19 dates—but in an era when so much live music feels pre-packaged and rehearsed to death, Carlile's proving that sometimes the best moments come from actually letting go.
Read the full story at Variety → https://variety.com/2026/music/concert-reviews/brandi-carlile-all-request-tour-burn-setlist-concert-review-1236947885/
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