Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile has a handful of concerts to get through this month before she takes a walk down the aisle in September.
The Seattle-based singer-songwriter is getting hitched to girlfriend Catherine Shepherd, whom she met while on tour in England. Shepherd headed Paul McCartney's charitable foundation, which had donated auction items to Carlile's "Fight the Fear" campaign to assist battered women.
We caught up with Carlile via cell phone from the ninth hole of a Kentucky golf course for a quick catch-up.
So Sir Paul introduced you?
"Yes, and that story will get more and more detailed as the time goes on."
I think you should throw in references to the queen and royal shenanigans.
"I know. I could go somewhere with this."
Is Shepherd coming with you to Tucson?
"Oh, absolutely. She's never been there before so I can't wait to show her Tucson, Starr Pass and all that great stuff there in town. I tend to (consider it) a mini-vacation."
You've mentioned you'd love to get a place here. Any closer to that?
"No closer financially, but I still fantasize about it. I would love to buy a house in that Starr Pass area and just be out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe some day we'll hit it big and I'll have a horse ranch out there."
You're coming here with a new album that has some distinctive country accents.
"We did a lot of experimenting with acoustic instruments that we wouldn't normally have experimented with in the studio. Mainly just the banjos and mandolins; that's where you're getting a lot of that. There was some country stuff, too, some country singing where I had my mom come out and watch me sing, just to make sure I was nailing the twang."
And what about the wedding?
"We're getting married in Plymouth, Mass., where my fiancee's father lives. A small affair, just family and close friends. Then we're having a big, crazy party in Seattle where we live."
Any honeymoon plans?
"No. We're having what they call a staycation. โฆ We're on the road all the time, so we just want to stay home and hang out with our animals."
If you go
โข What: Brandi Carlile in concert with Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull.
โข When: 8 p.m. Sunday.
โข Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
• Tickets: $30 at rialtotheatre.com or at the door.
