August 13, 2026—11x Grammy Award-winner Brandi Carlile will release an expanded edition of her critically acclaimed album, Returning To Myself, digitally on September 25 via Interscope Records/Lost Highway. Pre-save Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version) HERE.
An exclusive signed rainbow vinyl edition of the deluxe album is available to those who pre-order by October 1, with orders set to ship on December 11. This is a special one-time pressing and will only be available on Carlile’s website.
Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version) features intimate reimagined versions of all ten songs from the original album, with Carlile returning to Long Pond Studio to co-produce four tracks with Aaron Dessner. The collection includes a collaboration with Grammy-nominated composer and electronic musician Jon Hopkins (Brian Eno, Coldplay) on the breakout single, “Human,” as well as a new version of Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes” exclusively on DSPs. See below for full track list details.
Of the project, Carlile shares:
“When I was a teenager, I loved to toy with my own emotions by actively seeking out songs in a genre that very few are willing to call by its rightful name. The ‘Sad Gay’ genre. You don’t have to actually be gay to let it break your heart into a thousand pieces, it will do that against your will. I would sit at the edge of my bed and listen to ‘Everybody Hurts’ by R.E.M., ‘Language Or the Kiss’ by the Indigo Girls, or watch Sinead O’ Connor singing ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ while that single black and white tear ran down her face. I’d listen to Kate Bush singing ‘This Woman’s Work,’ Tracy Chapman’s ‘The Promise,’ the Philadelphia soundtrack, the City of Angels soundtrack. I would do this just to feel myself spiral into pure emotional self-indulgence in ways only music like this could permit, making me a very sad gay.
Returning To Myself has been such a profound journey. It’s taken me to places I never imagined and taught me a lot about my disdain for the solitary, as well as my own ridiculous pattern of self-avoidance. Long may it continue. I reimagined this album in this way because I want to be brought back to the edge of my bed again and I want to bring you with me. I rebuilt the whole thing for you and for myself. This one is for us… the sad gays wherever you are. This is Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version)…”
Ahead of the release, Carlile unveils “Human (feat. Jon Hopkins) (Sad Gay Version)” today—listen/share HERE.
Adding to yet another monumental year, Carlile kicks off the second leg of her extensive “The Human Tour” tonight with a sold-out show at Portland, ME’s Cross Insurance Arena, followed by later stops at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre (three nights), Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena, Austin’s Moody Center and Santa Barbara’s Santa Barbara Bowl among many others. She will also return to the U.K and Europe an extensive run this spring and headline All Things Go NYC and All Things Go D.C. in September. See below for complete tour itinerary. Earlier this year, Carlile also hosted “Be Human: A Concert For Minneapolis,” a sold-out performance at Minneapolis’ Target Center that raised over $750K for The Advocates for Human Rights.
Furthermore, Carlile was honored as one of TIME’s 2026 Women of the Year and performed “gorgeous” (Billboard) renditions of “America The Beautiful” at Super Bowl LX (watch HERE) and as part of ABC News’ America 250 celebration (watch HERE). She also returned to NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series and NBC’s Saturday Night Live as musical guest for the fourth time, was featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Las Culturistas, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Howard Stern Show, NPR’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin and The Drew Barrymore Show, and spoke with The New York Times for an in-depth profile.
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