Brandi Carlile Wins Best Rock Performance + Best Rock Song at the 2023 Grammy Awards
One of the most-nominated performers overall at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Brandi Carlile kicked off the evening on a winning note, bringing home not one but two early, out-of-genre wins. She won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the Premiere Ceremony before the main show on Sunday (Feb. 5.)
Both trophies were for her song, "Broken Horses," which comes off the track list of her 2021 album, In These Silent Days.
The first trophy was for Best Rock Performance. As she took the stage with her bandmates and collaborators, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Carlile seemed shocked and thrilled to be the winner in the category. However, during her acceptance speech, she noted that rock 'n' roll has always been a part of the band's DNA.
"I cannot tell you how much this means to us. We were born and raised in Seattle," Carlile told the crowd, noting that the Hanseroths were "covered in Ramones tattoos and had never played an acoustic guitar" the first time she met them.
After she returned to the stage just minutes later, to collect her Best Rock Song award, Carlile's shock had turned to full-blown awe.
"Oh my GOD!" she said as she stood at the podium. "This is amazing. I'll never be the same."
As she collected her second trophy, Carlile dedicated her wins to her mother, Teresa Carlile. "My mom's out there," the singer said. "I gotta thank you for telling me to stop singing so angry, because I obviously ignored that like I ignore everything you tell me to do."
Carlile has now won two Grammys in 2023, and she has the potential to collect up to five more before the night is over. The singer is nominated in several different categories and genres, including the marquee, all-genre categories of Record of the Year and Album of the Year.