Sara Bareilles Takes Us Backstage for a PBS New Year’s Eve Special

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

“I always pour a little bit of bourbon (before going on stage),” Bareilles, 45, reveals in her Backstage Pass feature in the latest issue of Us Weeklyon newsstands now. “I don’t even really drink it – I’ve just been doing this since I was in my 20s.”

Aside from her bubbly tradition, Bareilles likes to “touch whoever’s going on stage” with her before showtime. For the Kennedy Center shows in Washington, DC – which were filmed for PBS’ Next at the Kennedy Center series and will premiere on December 31 – which featured special guests Rufus Wainwright, Emily King a David Ryan Harris and composer Nadia DiGiallonardo on the piano.

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

“Spiritually, I’m trying to tap into this idea that the best shows are when I can stay in the state of mind, ‘It’s not about me,'” Bareilles shares. “Stepping on stage isn’t really about me — it’s about what I can offer the audience. On my better nights, I can really get out of my own way.”

Bareilles performed some of the most beloved tunes from her songbook for the PBS special, titled Sara Bareilles: New Year’s Eve With the National Symphony Orchestra and Friends. She says Us that her 2007 song “Gravity” was a “real highlight” of the show.

“I stepped away from the piano for that and got to sing backed by this beautiful orchestra with an amazing arrangement made by Rob Moose,” she recalls.

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

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

Bareilles says it’s her dog, which she adopted with her fiancé Joe Tippett in 2022, is the “really most useful” piece for keeping her “present” and “grounded” before a show. With him by her side, she doesn’t need a good luck charm.

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

One of the tunes Bareilles performed during The Kennedy Center shows is “Enough,” a song he wrote for the musical adaptation of Me Wolitzer‘ a novel The Interests, which is currently in the workshop phase.

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“I wrote ‘Enough’ before I even finished the book,” he said Us. “I was so impressed by the character of Dennis and the themes that arose around childhood and growing up and what is enough and when can we be satisfied with what we have?”

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

“It’s something I struggle with in my life quite a bit, too,” she shares.

Sara Bareilles: New Year’s Eve With the National Symphony Orchestra and Friends airs on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS app on Tuesday, December 31, at 8 pm ET.

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