September 4, 2026—11x Grammy Award-winner Brandi Carlile shares a reimagined version of her song “Church & State” today. Listen to/share “Church & State (Sad Gay Version)” HERE and watch the lyric video HERE.
Carlile shares, “If ‘Church & State’ is a rallying cry for a world where one is free to believe what they choose, then the Sad Gay Version is a deep mourning for those who haven’t had the chance to live in such times yet – and for all those who fight to ensure we can continue to believe, love, and share life together on our own terms, without consequence. Without interference.”
The track is the second unveiled from Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version), an expanded edition of Carlile’s critically acclaimed album, Returning To Myself, out digitally on September 25 via Interscope Records/Lost Highway (pre-save 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 reworked 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 “Human (Sad Gay Version),” as well as a new version of Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes” exclusively on DSPs.
The project follows the recent release of Carlile’s “Be Human: A Concert For Minneapolis” in full on YouTube. Filmed during Carlile’s sold-out show at Minneapolis’ Target Center, “Be Human” has raised over $750,000 to date for The Advocates for Human Rights via Carlile’s Looking Out Foundation. “A monumental gig” (Rolling Stone), the show includes a special performance of “It’s Okay to Change Your Mind” with Minneapolis’ Singing Resistance as well as Carlile and The Head and the Heart joining forces for Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”
Adding to yet another monumental year, Carlile kicked off the second leg of her extensive “The Human Tour” last month, which includes upcoming stops at 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 for an extensive run this spring and will headline All Things Go NYC and All Things Go D.C. this month. See below for complete tour itinerary.
Furthermore, Carlile was recently 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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