Sara Bareilles takes us behind the scenes of the PBS New Year’s Eve special

Sara Bareilles performed songs old and new during three career-long shows at the Kennedy Center in September, but she stuck to a tried and true pre-show ritual.

“I always pour a little bourbon (before I go on stage),” Bareilles, 45, reveals exclusively in her Backstage Pass article in the latest issue My Weeklyon newsstands now. “I don’t even really drink it anymore – I’ve just been doing it since I was 20.”

In addition to her drinking tradition, Bareilles likes to “touch whoever goes on stage” with her before a show. For the Kennedy Center shows in Washington, DC that were filmed for PBS’ Next at the Kennedy Center series and will premiere on December 31st – including special guests Rufus Wainwright, Emily King and David Ryan Harris and composer Nadia DiGiallonard on the piano.

When connecting with her fellow musicians, Bareilles also likes to set an intention for the performance.

“Spiritually, I try to really tap into this idea that the best performances are when I can stay in a state of mind of, ‘It’s not about me,'” says Bareilles. “Getting on stage really isn’t about me – it’s about what we can offer the audience. On my better nights I can really get out of the way.’

Bareilles performed some of the most popular tunes from her songbook for the PBS special of the same name Sara Bareilles: New Year’s Eve with the National Symphony Orchestra and friends. She says Our that her 2007 song “Gravity” was a “real highlight” of the show.

“For that I left the piano and just sang along with this beautiful orchestra with an incredible arrangement by Rob Moose“, he recalls.

Bareilles is all about the music, so it’s no surprise that her list of wardrobe essentials is short and simple.

“Refreshments, good lighting and a mirror. Basic stuff. I don’t have a bowl of green M&Ms,” jokes the singer-songwriter. “I really don’t like to waste things. Sometimes you get used to having everything under the sun at your fingertips. All I really want is a bottle of bourbon, some water, good lighting and my dog ​​(Louie).

Bareilles says her dog, which she adopted with her fiance Joe Tippett in 2022 is the “truly most useful” hack to keep her “present” and “grounded” before the show. With him by her side, she doesn’t need lucky charms.

“I’m not superstitious about that. I mean, I definitely love talismans and I have a lot of meaningful tchotchkes in my life, but I really feel like the thing that I carry around is more of a mindset,” she explains. “I’m trying to cultivate a real mindset, and that’s something that can move with me to different environments.”

One of the tunes Bareilles performed during The Kennedy Center show is “Enough,” a song she wrote for musical adaptation I Wolitzernovel Interesting facts, which is currently in the workshop stage.

“I wrote ‘Enough’ before I finished the book,” she says Our. “I was so moved by the character of Dennis and the themes that came up around childhood and adolescence and what is enough and when can we be satisfied with what we have?”

Bareilles adds that she felt “so close” to the characters while reading Interesting factsspecifically Dennis’s wife Jules, who has a “hard time letting go” of the “ambitions” she had when she was younger.

“It’s something I struggle with quite a bit in my life as well,” he says.

Sara Bareilles: New Year’s Eve with the National Symphony Orchestra and friends will air on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS app on Tuesday, December 31 at 8:00 PM ET.

For more information on Bareilles, pick up the latest issue My Weeklyon newsstands now.