Brandi Carlile photographed at Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Gala at The Beverly Hilton on Feb. 9, 2019 in Beverly Hills.
Brandi Carlile is officially the ambassador for Record Store Day 2020, and the title comes with a ton of personal significance for the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.
The last two years have been chock full of chart accolades and awards -- including Billboard's 2019 Trailblazer at the annual Women in Music honors -- but this distinction highlights her journey as an artist and the role record stores have played in it.
"Independent record stores are home to me and the twins," she wrote on Instagram. "When I started playing guitar and writing songs in my bedroom I would daydream about making albums that a person might stumble across by flipping through the alphabetically organized bins at the record store. They’d see The Cars, then Belinda Carlisle, then there I’d be...just waiting to be noticed by a proper music fan out for a day of discovery. Maybe if I had a cool enough shirt on or just the right font they’d pick up my album and take it home."
Record stores are a frequent destination for Carlile when she's on the road, and she stressed their lasting importance in her life now that her daydream's come true: "We’ve covered every square inch of this country and visited damn near every record store it has to offer and I still believe these places are the heart and soul of American music."
Recent Record Store Day ambassadors include Carlile's fellow Washingtonians Pearl Jam (2019's pick), Run the Jewels (2018) and St. Vincent (2017).
Read Carlile's Record Store Day announcement in full below.