Brandi Carlile – Be Human: A Concert for Minneapolis

This post will combine two of my writing interests: music, which I write about on this blog, and politics, which I write about on Substack. On Saturday, February 21st, 2026, my wife and I “attended” Brandi Carlile’s concert at the Target Center in Minneapolis. I put air quotes around attended because we were not physically there – we attended via a live-stream that we watched from Phoenix.

Brandi Carlile has a special relationship with the Twin Cities, as it has been one of her strongest markets in the country. She has performed over 30 times in the Twin Cities over the past 20 years. She has played diverse venues: the 400 Bar, First Avenue, the State Theatre, the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand (twice), Grand Casino Arena (Xcel), and now Target Center. She has stated that she draws larger crowds in the Twin Cities than in her home state of Washington.

It is no surprise that Carlile would want to leverage her already scheduled Minneapolis show to celebrate the city’s resistance to Operation Metro Surge, mourn its recent tragedies of Good and Pretti, and raise funds for a good cause: The Advocates for Human Rights. The Advocates for Human Rights is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that promotes international human rights standards to promote civil society and reinforce the rule of law. Migrant rights is one of their causes.

My wife and I see Brandi every chance we get, and we had FOMO that she was playing in Minneapolis when we were out of town. So we were delighted that she would be live-streaming the Minneapolis show. It was a bonus that the proceeds from live-stream and show-specific merch (which we ordered online) would be directed to charity. This was going to be an old-fashioned concert fundraiser presented for the digital age. The show was great, and per Brandi’s socials, the show raised over $600K for charity!

The live-stream was high-quality: high-resolution camera shots, good camera angles, and clear sound. The sound was vastly superior, even on a TV without a soundbar, to what you would typically hear in an arena (the live-stream sound was mixed by the legendary sound engineer Bob Clearmountain). Brandi is a pro and, at this stage of her career, knows how to play for the camera and the live audience. She mixed her usual stage banter with Twin City-specific remarks. The banter was just enough to acknowledge the seriousness of the moment without detracting from the joy of the concert. “You’re special people. There’s nothing like you,” she said. “I’ve never been more inspired in my life by a city.” My only complaint about the live-stream is that it didn’t capture the audience vibe well.

This is Brandi’s first proper arena tour, and so she had the appropriate staging for a big-time rock show (previous Brandi big shows in the Twin Cities were one-offs without the arena accouterments). She has enough material that even after a two-and-a-half-hour performance, we wanted more.

Brandi had a nice set list (see below), and she had a great ending: her traditional closing tune, “A Long Goodbye,” followed by an a cappella rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” in total darkness. The lights came up, and she brought out her special guests, Minneapolis’ Singing Resistance, to sing their “It’s OK to Change Your Mind.” After bows and the departure of the band from the stage, Carlile danced on stage solo to a recording of Chappel Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.” It was a very satisfying evening.

Set List:

1. Returning to Myself
2. Human
3. Mainstream Kid
4. Broken Horses
5. A War With Time
6. A Woman Oversees
7. Right on Time
8. Who Believes in Angels? (Brandi Carlile & Elton John song)
9. Beginning to Feel the Years – audience request with a trio of Brandi and the Twins
10. The Things I Regret – audience request with a trio of Brandi and the Twins
11. You Without Me (Brandi Carlile & Elton John song)
12. The Mother
13. The Story
14. You and Me on the Rock
15. No One Knows Us
16. Sinners, Saints and Fools (with interpolation of “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round”)
17. Long Long Time (Linda Ronstadt cover)
18. The Joke
19. Hold Out Your Hand
20. ENCORE Viva la Vida (Coldplay cover with opening act The Head and the Heart)
21. Church & State
22. Uninvited (Alanis Morissette cover)
23. A Long Goodbye (with interpolation of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country”)
24. It’s Okay To Change Your Mind with guests Singing Resistance