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

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

“I always pour a little bourbon (before I go on stage),” Bareilles, 45, reveals exclusively in her Backstage Pass feature in the latest issue of the magazine. Us Weeklyon newsstands now. “I don't drink it anymore – I've been doing it since I was in my 20s.”

Aside from her wine traditions, Bareilles likes to “connect with whoever is going on stage” with her before showtime. For the Kennedy Center screenings in Washington, D.C. – which were filmed for PBS Next up at the Kennedy Center The series will premiere on December 31 – featuring special guests Rufus Wainwright, Emily King and David Ryan Harris And the composer Nadia DiGallonardo On the piano.

When communicating with fellow musicians, Bareilles also likes to set a goal for performing.

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

Bareilles performed some beloved tunes from her songbook for the eponymous PBS special Sara Bareilles: New Year's Eve with the National Symphony Orchestra and Friends. She tells we that her 2007 song “Gravity” was a “real highlight” of the show.

“I moved away from the piano for this and sang backed by this beautiful orchestra with an amazing arrangement he did Rob Moss“, she remembers.

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 wasting 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 her dog is the one she adopted with her fiancé Joe Tippett In 2022, it's the “really most useful” hack to keep them “present” and “settled” before the show. With him by her side, she doesn't need good luck charms.

“I'm not a superstitious person in that way. I mean I definitely like talismans and I have a lot of meaningful decorations in my life, but I really feel like the thing I carry with me is more of a mindset. “I'm trying to cultivate a real mindset, and that's the thing that can transfer “With me to different environments.”

One of the tunes Bareilles sang during the Kennedy Center performances was “Enough,” a song she wrote for Musical adaptation Me and Wolitzera novel Interesting things, Which is currently in the workshop stage.

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“I wrote Enough before I even finished the book,” she says. we. “I was very moved by Denise's character and the themes that were around childhood and growing up and what is enough and when can we be satisfied with what we have?”

Bareilles adds that she felt “very close” to the characters when reading Interesting thingsspecifically Denise's wife, Jules, who “has a hard time letting go” of the “ambition” she had when she was younger.

“It's something I wrestle with in my life as well,” she shares.

Sara Bareilles: New Year's Eve with the National Symphony Orchestra and Friends It will air on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS app on Tuesday, December 31 at 8 p.m. ET.

To learn more about Bareilles, pick up the latest issue of Us Weeklyon newsstands now.