Sheryl Crow playing in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, who does not want to take home | Keith Spera

Sheryl Crow has a special connection to New Orleans: she recorded much of her 1996 self-titled album, including the hits “Everyday Is a Winding Road” and “If It Makes You Happy,” at Kingsway Studio, now closed to producer Daniel Lanois. , at the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Chartres Street.

He will play these songs and more during his free program Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Jax Brewery along Decatur Street as part of the previous Allstate Fan Fest Sugar Bowl. Some of his gadgets will be broadcast during the ABC broadcast of the countdown of the central time zone to “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin ‘Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021.”

We spoke briefly over the phone the day after I spoke with contemporary R&B star Usher, who will follow Crow at the Allstate Fan Fest at 10:30 p.m.

Did you stay up late as a kid to watch “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve?”

Crow: Absolutely. We’re thrilled to be a part of the Allstate Fan Fest, but what really excites us is being a part of Dick Clark’s legacy. As a kid, I used to watch American Bandstand every Saturday morning. When I grew up, I was part of the American Music Awards (produced by Dick Clark Productions). If I’m not working, we always see Dick Clark’s special – it’s the way we bring in the new year. It is a great tradition.

It’s like gathering around the fireplace, an American community experience.

Crow: Is. For a brief moment, forget everything that happens in your daily struggles or in the struggles of your country. You feel like you are part of a huge community of people playing the new year with hope and celebration, watching this program.

Have you set aside your big New Year’s plans to work?

Crow: I don’t usually work on New Year’s Eve, because my dad’s birthday is New Year’s Day and I always try to get there. But when they talked about it, I thought, “You know what? This is too much fun. It is a great legacy and such a great tradition, but it is also in one of my favorite places ”.

To warm up the Sugar Bowl, to be a part of Dick Clark, to be in New Orleans, it was an aspect of the incredible occurrences. So we said yes.

The last time you were here was at the 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. It felt like you had a great time at Gentilly Stage.

Crow: It has been an interesting transformation for me. It’s not that I didn’t like touring before – I’ve always liked touring, I’ve always liked playing live. But I feel like in the last few years I finally got it.

Part of it is being an old generation of artists, having had the great fortune of being successful, having been in the music business and seeing it change now, and just feeling an amazing sense of gratitude every time I go out. on stage. Particularly for playing with people I love and for having an amazing community of people who are still with us. This feeling of gratitude has elevated our shows to an even more exciting level.

At Jazz Fest, I was struck by the translation of your most tasteful Nashville songs, with pedal steel guitar.

Crow: My band is mostly from Nashville. But it’s interesting: a lot of the music I grew up listening to had a country tone, but it wasn’t the norm in Nashville at the time. When he was older, he listened to many Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris and the Rolling Stones during the country-inspired period, “Let It Bleed.”

A lot of that has saturated my music and definitely inspired it. Being able to go out and play now doesn’t sound that far off from what’s happening in the country now.

He is more on the American track, alongside Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson.

Crow: Thanks for putting my name in this same category. I am aware that. (River). They are two of my favorites.

Will the band you use at the Allstate Fan Fest be similar to the setup you used at the Jazz Fest?

Crow: Not only will it be similar, it will be exactly the same band. We’ve been together for seven or eight years now. Now it’s just familiar. We are all the same age, we all feel the same sense of, “Aren’t we the luckiest people on the planet we still are? Go on stage and play songs that our fan base listened to when they were younger and bring their children, who have grown up listening to the same things. ” It has been amazing to see our fan base grow, so that young people know these songs because they were introduced by osmosis.

In that Jazz Fest show, you seemed comfortable with your own skin. You mentioned being engaged three times and said, “I’ve never been married, but I’ve had a great time without divorcing myself.” This is a fun line.

Crow: Well … that’s the truth. When you reach a certain age, and I think most people relate to it, you become less valuable in revealing your true self. I don’t get into the age of social media. In a way I am a dinosaur. Therefore, “protecting my brand” and being calculated about what I say or my appearance, thankfully, is not part of the navigation of my career. I’ve been around for a long time, so I can only say what I want. And people know me well enough now to say, “Well, it’s just her.”

Yesterday I spoke with Usher. He said “he’s always ready for my big hug” when he sees you.

Crow: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Usher be the hot young guy. He is now one of those boys that younger children approach. It’s always great. It has been proven and is a mainstay. And it has longevity, which is something unusual in our day. Having the longevity you have and proving yourself … is good. He is of artistic confidence. I love that about him. And, he’s a good guy.

What do you do differently for a New Year’s Eve program?

Crow: We don’t interpret our whole set, so we will definitely make the hits. It’s interesting how, when you’re 25 or 30 years old of songs, they change meaning, especially with what’s happening now. It’s great to be able to lift people up, which is what we want to do. We want to take people out for a while and be a beacon of hope, to look at things positively: “Hey, it’s a new year.” We will definitely make songs that people know. We can launch a new one here or there.

But there are songs like “Everyday Is a Winding Road” that continue to have a new meaning as we experience life. That and “If It Makes You Happy,” we recorded in New Orleans. They started there, they were inspired by it and we will definitely play them.

In New Orleans, will you make the pilgrimage to the old site of Kingsway Studio?

Crow: I don’t think I’ll bring my kids, so we’ll definitely be moving around and see some of the old places we used to chase. We will definitely eat at a couple of good places. Whenever we go down there, we definitely go out and experience New Orleans. It is such a special place.

Usher declared himself a big fan of donuts. Is it something we also look forward to?

Crow: Oh my goodness. I’ts horrible. For the last two years I have been trying not to make sugar or gluten. Forget about it. I go straight for a donut as soon as I get off the plane. So I will just write these two days off and start the new year recovering good habits.

To borrow the motto of another city, “What happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans.”

Crow: Exactly, except when trying to get the pounds out. I wish this would stay in New Orleans, but it’s not. He comes home with you.