Cloud 9 press

Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend returns to Riviera Maya, Mexico February 1-5

GUITAR GIRL MAGAZINE - June 17, 2021

Brandi Carlile‘s Girls Just Wanna Weekend—a destination concert vacation produced by Cloud 9 Adventures in partnership with The Bowery Presents—will return to the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico February 1-5, 2022, and once again features an all female-fronted lineup. In addition to multiple sets from Carlile, the event will include performances by Sheryl CrowTanya TuckerIndigo GirlsLuciusMargo PriceYola,KT TunstallAllison Russell, Amythyst Kiah and Katie Pruitt as well as special guests.

Guests will have the choice of staying at two all-inclusive resorts for Girls Just Wanna Weekend: Hard Rock Hotel or UNICO 20°87° Resort—an adult-only luxury resort located just 10 minutes from Hard Rock. The all-inclusive packages offer guests a variety of accommodations at both locations (including stagefront and oceanfront suites), a wide array of dining options, world class spas, fully equipped fitness centers, and unlimited drinks at bars throughout the resorts and in all concert areas. In addition to the performances at Hard Rock, there will also be daily programming including activities and solo sets by the pool at UNICO, with complimentary door-to-door shuttle service between the two resorts throughout the day. Guests who already purchased a pre-book or joined the waitlist can reserve their all-inclusive packages Tuesday, June 22. Any rooms remaining will go on sale to the public Wednesday, June 23 at 1:00pm ET/12:00pm CT. Complete details regarding the event and packages are available at www.girlsjustwannaweekend.com.

The festival adds to yet another landmark year for Carlile, whose acclaimed new memoir, Broken Horses, recently debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list (Print Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction). Published by Crown—an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC—Broken Horses continues to receive overwhelming critical praise: The New York Times Book Review heralds, “If you’re already a Brandi Carlile fan…there’s an excellent chance you’ll find ‘Broken Horses’ charming, funny, illuminating and poignant. If you’re not a fan, ‘Broken Horses’ might well make you into one,” while Variety declares, “Carlile is that rare pop or rock star gifted with complete self-consciousness and confidence but also the soulful clairvoyance to read a room…even a really, really big, global room,” and the Associated Press asserts, “‘Broken Horses,’ shines…She’s perceptive, vulnerable, humble, funny and above all else, a good story teller.” In addition to the hardback, a special audiobook edition, narrated by Carlile herself, debuted at #6 on The New York Times Audio Nonfiction Best Sellers list. Exclusively for the audiobook, Carlile recorded new stripped-down, solo renditions of more than 30 songs referenced in the book, including her own and songs from other artists such as Dolly Parton, Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and more.

Furthering an already monumental career, Carlile won Best Country Song at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards for “Crowded Table” performed by The Highwomen—her second-consecutive win in the category. The achievement is just the latest for Carlile following the 2018 release of her breakthrough GRAMMY Award-winning album, By The Way, I Forgive You. In the years since—in addition to six GRAMMY Awards recognizing her work as a performer, songwriter and producer—Carlile was awarded Billboard‘s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award” and received multiple recognitions from the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards including 2020’s Album of the Year (Highwomen), Group of the Year (The Highwomen) and Song of the Year (“Crowded Table”) and 2019’s Artist of the Year. Carlile is also once again nominated for Artist of the Year and Group of the Year (The Highwomen) at the 2021 ceremony.

On top of her work as a musician and writer, Carlile is also a founder of the Looking Out Foundation. Created in 2008 with longtime bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth, Looking Out amplifies the impact of music by empowering those without a voice with varied initiatives including campaigns focused on Children in Conflict/War Child, The IF Project, Fund Racial Justice and more. To date, they have raised over $2 million for grassroots causes.