Singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles embarked on a back-to-basics tour this spring ahead of her forthcoming album, “The Blessed Unrest” (due July 16), and is making an intimate connection with her devoted fans across North America as she goes. Go backstage with the “Love Song” singer as she gives Billboard’s cameras a behind-the-scenes look into how the whole show comes together, from venue-walkthrough to wardrobe and much more.
 |
“I’ve done a lot of touring in my career, but it’s always been with a band,” says Bareilles backstage prior to her gig at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer. “The connection that I’m feeling with the audience is tenfold what I normally feel because I’m not sharing my stage experience with anybody but the audience. I feel super-connected.”
Related
Video: Sara Bareilles performs “Brave” live.
Prior to the Philadelphia show, Bareilles and her crew share all the work that it takes to make the concert possible. Sara’s social media strategist, merch staffer, production manager, and other members of the team give their accounts of what it’s like on tour with her. It’s certainly a demanding, ’round-the-clock line of work, but they share that Bareilles and her music keeps everyone in good spirits.
“I get tears in my eyes. She really has this feeling and it comes out in the music a stripped-down. It’s incredible,” says Michelle McCaw, who handles social media for Sara, of Bareilles new music. In Philadelphia, Bareilles performed a piano-only version of “Brave” — her latest single. According to Bareilles, it’s an ode to “a dear friend who was having trouble coming out,” though she thinks anyone needing some encouragement can connect to it.
“I love that the song ended up being broad-themed, that it could apply to a lot of things to a lot of people. I don’t think ‘Brave’ has to just apply to this one cause.”
Bareilles is on tour in advace of “The Blessed Unrest” rolls on through May 23, where the trek wraps at New York’s Highline Ballroom.