40 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JULY 1, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Forest Hills Stadium is back with memorable concert events
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Hey concert fans — live entertainment
is back at Forest Hills Stadium, one of
New York City’s most popular outdoor
music venues located in Queens.
Whether you’re a New Yorker or just
visiting, mark your calendars and get
psyched, ‘cause excitement is building for
the stadium’s summer and fall lineup of
unforgettable concert events.
Th is historic venue is conveniently situated
in the quaint neighborhood of Forest
Hills, just steps from the E, M, F and R
subway trains at Forest Hills-71st Ave., as
well as the nearby Long Island Rail Road
station.
You won’t want to miss folk-rock superstar
Brandi Carlile’s upcoming performance
at the stadium on Friday, July 23.
It’s interesting to note that on Carlile’s
Instagram page, the six-time Grammy
Award-winning musician and activist
describes herself as: “No. 1 Bestselling
New York Times Author who occasionally
sings, writes & produces music.”
Growing up in woodsy Ravensdale,
Washington, the budding performer was
a feisty, small-town girl, who broke lots
of rules and became a rebel without a
cause. As an adolescent, she and her siblings
formed their own band, while young
Carlile learned how to sing with self-taught
vocal lessons. She likely inherited that skill
from her Patsy Cline-loving mom, who
encouraged her 8-year-old daughter to
perform country songs on stage.
Eventually, the high-school-dropoutturned
rising-star would begin her tough
journey to fame with lots of untapped talent.
She got her big break when Columbia
Records signed her in 2004, releasing
some home-recorded songs that she made
in 2005, along with newly recorded tracks
in her debut album, “Brandi Carlile.”
In 2018, the singer was lauded for the
release of her breakthrough Grammy
Award-winning album, “By the Way, I
Forgive You.”
Aft er snagging additional awards —
that recognized her work as a performer,
songwriter and producer — she changed
gears for a while and penned a poignant
new memoir called “Broken Horses,”
which recently debuted at No. 1 on Th e
New York Times bestsellers list and continues
to receive overwhelming critical
acclaim.
Excerpts from that book are featured in
a recent Rolling Stone online piece, titled
“How a Teenaged Brandi Carlile Quit
School, Overcame Tragedy, and Met Her
First Love.”
In one snippet, the artist writes about
working as a barista at a curbside coff ee
stand, a sample lady at a grocery store and
as a roofi ng laborer at times while she was
in a band.
“Th e band became my North Star. I was
sad about my life and feeling really confl
icted about school, but I wasn’t worried.
I was absolutely going to be famous, and
when I closed my eyes I fantasized constantly
about all the things I would buy
my family,” Carlile wrote. “Mostly fourwheelers
and huge houses.”
Th e memoir follows Carlile’s recent collaborative
project, “Crowded Table” —
from Th e Highwomen’s self-titled debut
album — which got the Best Country Song
Grammy award for the song (her secondconsecutive
win in the category).
Known as one of the most respected
voices in the music industry, Carlile
is currently on tour and will soon
be making her way to the Big Apple
— and fans can’t wait to experience
her live show at Forest Hills
Stadium.
At 40, the multi-talented
songstress still proudly clings
to her beloved country roots.
While she has found enviable
success both in her
musical and literary careers,
Carlile still enjoys that simple,
quiet rural life back in
Washington state, where she’s
been living with her family: wife
Catherine, and their two young
daughters, Evangeline and Elijah.
With an affi nity for collaboration,
the singer has enjoyed working
with many iconic
artists over the
years, including Dolly Parton, Sam Smith,
Elton John, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Gary
Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson,
John Prine, Yola, Dave Matthews and
others.
Always wearing many hats, Carlile also
founded the Looking Out Foundation,
which amplifi es the impact of music by
empowering those without a voice with
varied initiatives, including campaigns
focused on Children in Confl ict/War
Child, Th e If Project, Fund Racial Justice,
Fight Th e Fear, Looking Out For Th e
Hungry and more.
To date, they have raised over $1 million
benefi ting children whose families,
communities and schools have been torn
apart by war — through their 2017 Cover
Stories project — and, overall, over $2
million to grassroots causes.
If you can’t make it to Carlile’s show,
check the listing below for more must-see
happenings on the horizon:
• July 31 – Bright Eyes with Waxahatchee
and Lucy Dacus
• Aug. 21 – Wilco and Sleater-Kinney
• Aug. 28 – Dropkick Murphys and
Rancid
Photo courtesy of Forest Hills Stadium
• Sept. 9 – King Crimson
• Sept. 10 and 11 – My Morning Jacket
and Brittany Howard
• Oct. 2 – Th e Neighbourhood
In addition to booking and producing
events, Madison House, Inc. spearheaded
the rescue and rehabilitation of
Forest Hills Stadium, leading the venue to
a “Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue”
and booking sell-outs by Paul Simon,
Drake v. Lil Wayne, Flume, Tom Petty and
many other A-list artists.
Tickets are on sale now at
foresthillsstadium.com.
Brandi Carlile will be performing at Forest Hills stadium in July.
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