Brandi Carlile named Record Store Day ambassador for this year and fans are calling her a 'damn fine choice'
Multiple-Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer Brandi Carlile will cement her already-strong career by serving as the official ambassador of Record Store Day 2020. The talented American artist announced her new role on February 21 through a video filmed in her attic recording studio in Seattle with her collaborators, twin brothers Phil (who is now her brother-in-law) and Tim Hanseroth.
The annual event of Record Store Day was inaugurated in 2008 and is held on one Saturday every April and every Black Friday in November. It celebrates the culture of independently owned record stores. This year, the 13th annual event will take place on April 18 at independent shops from around the world. The previous ambassadors included Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, St Vincent and Dave Grohl.
In the video, Carlile said, "We've been making the physical manifestation of independent-minded music for over two decades in this space," noting that Elton John, who is her musical hero, regularly frequents indie shops. The twins and Carlile then spoke about some of their favorite albums.
She added, "What independent record stores do is that they mine, archive, love, meticulously care for, and make available to you other people’s dreams. The twins and I have never made an album that we didn’t intend to be in an independent record store. Thank you so much for recognizing this love in me and the twins and giving us this opportunity. We won’t let you down."
According to Rolling Stone, Record Store Day co-founder Carrie Colliton spoke on Carlile's new ambassadorship in a statement. "Brandi’s career has woven through record stores from the beginning, and I can barely remember when there hasn’t been a Brandi Carlile record in their racks and on their charts," she said and added, "Record stores really are tastemakers — in all genres, across the country — and they've been shouting about Brandi and the twins for years."
Carlile's fans showed their support on Twitter with one saying, "Congratulations @brandicarlile!! This is awesome". Another said, "Damn fine choice".
One fan shared their appreciation for Record Store Day and said, "Love this. Streaming’s great (except... ya know... it’s kinda not) but most of my favorite albums are ones I grabbed by chance in record stores. I don’t think I would’ve been able to appreciate Elton's 'Madman' without a childhood of looking at the liner notes of that album."
Another excited fan wrote, "Yay! That's The Story, and I'm stickin' to it." Another fan took a special liking to the logo and wrote, "WoooHoooo!!! Congratulations! This design would make a cool patch to add to my 'Bramily' one. Also on some other merch?"