Brandi Carlile Reunites With Guitarist Gibb Droll In Charlotte

Brandi Carlile brought a longtime musical collaborator back into the fold on Tuesday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Guitarist Gibb Droll joined Carlile for five songs during The Human Tour concert, while opening act The Head And The Heart also sat in during the encore.

Droll, a member of Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, has a relationship with Carlile stretching back more than 20 years. The two shared bills in 2006, and Droll was Carlile’s special guest at several shows during The Story Tour in 2007. Droll also contributed slide guitar and dobro to Carlile’s 2009 album Give Up The Ghost, including slide guitar on “Before It Breaks.”

According to The Charlotte Observer, Carlile told the Spectrum Center crowd that Droll jumped aboard her tour bus in Nashville without packing any clothes. Carlile performed at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena for the first time on Saturday. Droll emerged late in Tuesday’s main set for “Church & State” and stayed for “Sinners, Saints and Fools” and “The Joke.”

Droll returned during the encore to augment Carlile’s cover of Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” and “A Long Goodbye.” A short clip from the concert captured Droll and Carlile playing electric guitar together during a peak. Watch along with a pair of “Uninvited” clips:

The Head And The Heart, who opened the first leg of The Human Tour earlier this year, began a four-show return engagement supporting Carlile on Tuesday. The band joined the headliner to open the encore with “Hold Out Your Hand.” The collaboration followed Carlile and The Head And The Heart teaming up on Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” during the winter leg of the tour.

Elsewhere in Charlotte, Carlile took requests while performing with Phil and Tim Hanseroth, resulting in “Hard Way Home” and “That Wasn’t Me.” After Droll’s final appearance on “A Long Goodbye,” Carlile capped the night by singing an unaccompanied snippet of James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind” after the lights went out.

The Head And The Heart will remain aboard The Human Tour for shows in Duluth (Georgia) on September 3, Fort Worth on September 5 and Austin on September 6. Carlile concludes the North American leg of the trek on September 26 and 27 with appearances at All Things Go festivals in New York City and Columbia, Maryland.