Sierra Ferrell Knows How to Put On a Show

Bobbi Rich (@mamahotdog)

Sierra Ferrell wears a stiff white wig that’s part beehive, part Marie Antoinette costume piece, and a ball gown befitting a Southern belle, its hoop skirt cascading in yards of glossy ruched fabric. Tiers of ruffles flutter at her elbows, and a corseted bodice erupts into a bouquet of rich red roses that decorate the bust.

The 35-year-old stands before a sold-out crowd at Webster Hall in Manhattan, her guitar—tattooed with peonies and double-headed snakes—slung over her shoulder. She’s branded the instrument with her name, which is spelled out in mother-of-pearl letters along the guitar’s neck. “Sierra Ferrell” shimmers in the pink, purple, and orange stage lights.

The resulting image of the singer-songwriter, who has been praised as much for her authentic showmanship as her “spellbinding and time-bending” voice, is something like Gone With the Wind on an acid trip.

If you were expecting the stripped-back image of a ’60s folk singer, à la Joni Mitchell, or the jeans-and-a cowboy-hat mold of a country star, Ferrell’s over-the-top display is a shock to the system. But then, Ferrell has never fit easily into a box.

Her twang is undeniable, as is her liberal use of fiddles and other Americana-tinged instruments, such as the upright bass or steel guitar. But to call her simply a country artist is to sell her short. Ferrell’s music is peppered with references to genres far and wide, from Spanish flamenco to New Orleans jazz to techno. She’s been categorized as indie folk, Americana, and simply roots, and more creatively as psychedelic bluegrass or Appalachian gothic. I first came across her catalog via Spotify’s Modern Eclectic playlist, which is just vague enough to be wholly accurate.

The musician, who landed in Nashville by way of West Virginia around five years ago, has her own descriptor for her music: “the life-changing kind.” And in the context of her own life, it certainly is.

Her surreal story sounds as though it was written by a heavy-handed Mark Twain disciple: She was born and raised in West Virginia at the onset of the opioid epidemic, eventually making her way to Nashville after a nomadic youth spent freighthopping, busking, and battling addiction.

Since getting clean and settling in one place, she’s become a music-industry darling: She has played the Grand Ole Opry, collaborated with artists as diverse as Ray LaMontagne and Diplo, been covered by Kelly Clarkson, and been featured on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

In the process, as she proudly tells me over the phone one May afternoon, she also acquired dental insurance.

“I can go to the dentist and afford dental care,” she enthuses as she talks about life then versus now. “I can afford health care. I’ve bought a house—that’s huge. Nothing big and fancy, I don’t really need much. Honestly, all of us, we don’t really need much.” For all her success, Ferrell remains steadfastly and humbly herself.

Back in March she released Trail of Flowers, her second studio album with Rounder Records following her 2021 debut, Long Time Coming. Both were met with rave reviews from critics and fans alike. As she tours the country—this time on a bus rather than in the back of a rail car—Ferrell spoke to Glamour about her over-the-top aesthetic, her blooming career, and being a “carney at heart.”

Glamour: You’ve got a busy summer ahead with the tour. How are you preparing for everything?

Sierra Ferrell: I’m just ironing out all the wrinkles of things; it’s like you fix a couple problems, you get a couple new ones. I’m also figuring out how to spend my time, and thinking, What can I do to recharge myself? What can I do to help with my mental health? I do a lot sauna-ing, I like to float, and I do a lot of praying. I think that’s really beneficial.

Did you say float?

Yeah, it’s like a float tank.

Like a sensory deprivation tank?

Yeah. It’s really important for people to take time to recharge and remember who they are, because it’s so easy to get wrapped up [in everything] mentally.

What does a typical day on the road look like? What do you do to get ready and then how do you wind down after?

I try not to party too much the night before, but most of the time I’ve been doing pretty well, actually not really drinking that much. Drinking can really just throw a wrench in the tire, especially getting older; we can’t really drink like we used to. Our bodies just don’t want to hang as much.

Today I went to the sauna, and afterward I sat in this salt room and just meditated for a bit. I’m always looking for a place to sauna and do a cold plunge, or any sort of healing thing. I did this thing where I was laid on a water bed and there were these vibrations that came through the waterbed. And then you put your headphones on and you listen to these frequencies.

That sounds amazing.

I know. I’ve only found one of them, but I really like that. I felt like it enhanced my brain. I kept getting goosebumps, and I’m like, This is what I need to be doing.

So it's kind of like a sound bath, but instead of the gongs and stuff, it's these frequencies in your headphones?

And you’re laying on this waterbed, and then they send these same frequencies through the waterbed.

I have to try that. I also wanted to also talk to you about your tour looks and how you’ve prepared what you’re going to wear. You’ve got such amazing style.

I've always been super into fashion, I just love it. I mean, it's as simple as putting on a dress that makes you feel good for a bit more confidence. Any little thing like that to help. In today’s society, we tend to be hard on ourselves based on what we think is the right image, which is different for everybody.

As I’ve been progressing further in my career of doing music and I’m starting to get some cash flow, I can really invest in nice, timeless pieces or get something made original that’s a one-of-a-kind sort of dress or outfit. Recently I’ve been collaborating with some friends. It’s good to spice it up because I like to keep things exciting, and I trust that my friends have really good taste, and of course if I don’t like it I’m going to say no. But it’s always fun to see what they’re going to come up with.

I loved what you wore on Jimmy Kimmel too. It was a bit theatrical, and it felt like the audience was immediately immersed in Sierra’s World. Can you tell me about that look and how it came together?

That look was sort of like a woodland fairy, just a creature of the mountains. That’s what we were going for with that. I worked with this woman, she’s got this company called Fables by Barrie.

And I love the glam, too, with your hair and big braids and makeup. Do you have a makeup artist or a glam team that you’re taking with you on tour helping you out with everything?

Yeah, I’ve had a rotating cast of really amazing folks that’ve come out on the road with me. They have really great ideas, and of course I’m always going to say no if I don’t like it. It’s just like I said, it’s so fun to have different approaches and different eyes to help you.

It’s also fun to keep the show visual—I want you to have all these senses piqued. I want to have a show where people can taste something. I guess they’re drinking normally, so they’re tasting that, but I want to maybe come up with something else where there’s something that you can touch. They’re already listening, they’re already watching—and that’s the cool part of about the fashion moment, they’re watching it. The more senses I feel that you can interact with, the closer bond that you can create with the audience.

So you want to overload everybody’s senses, all five, and then you’ll go float and you remove all of them.

Yes.

You’ve also done shows that incorporate circus themes. Is that something that you’ve always been drawn to?

I’ve always been a carney at heart. I love the circus. I always wanted to run away with the circus when I was a kid.

The fact that you were train hopping, that you wanted to join the circus—it feels very much as if you came out of a different century. Do you feel that way?

I definitely feel that way.

Can we expect any circus elements as you continue the tour?

I mean, I feel like there are always going to be some sort of circus-y, quirky aspects to my show because that’s just who I am.

What are your inspirations—keeping it in the aesthetic area for a minute—for what you’re going to wear?

I pull from a lot of different eras and a lot of different centuries. I definitely always pull from what speaks to me. I just like a little bit of everything with a twist. Like Victorian things—I love corsets and that snatched waist, sort of corset-y type vibe, that shape.

Where do you draw your inspiration from musically? I was reading that you’re currently working on what’s next. What's on your mood board?

I really love surf rock music, so I want to start doing surf-rock-sounding energy and vibes. I love big band sounds, like Frank Sinatra vibes, and I do like some pop music too. I think whenever things are good and you like it, it’s good. You don’t necessarily need to have a name, which is something that we have to remind ourselves sometimes. There are so many different things in one. In a way, I just want to do it all.

I guess you’re under the Americana and folk umbrella, but I saw somebody call you psych bluegrass, and someone else just said country, but you also have jazz influences. Do you have a term that you prefer for how you see yourself as an artist?

I always try to say my music is the life-changing kind. What I want to do is inspire people to explore different genres of music because it’s so easy to regurgitate things that are put right in front of us.

People just get so busy—they’re waking up early, going to work, and they're listening to the radio. People are so used to just turning on a radio station and listening to what they’re playing. And so I feel like in a lot of places, especially rural areas, they’re missing aspects of culture from all over the world. I hope that my music entices people to explore other cultures and explore different sounds instead of just staying in one area, which is totally fine to do that, too, but I want to help encourage people to explore.

Totally. I read that you’ve taken up rapping. Is that true?

Oh my gosh! I mean, I’ve always joked that I want to be a rapper, and I think it’s fun. I could see myself in a rap song, doing the hook or something. I don’t want to rule it out. But I’ve got to put my time in.

So surf rock next, then your debut rap album after that.

That’s it.

You’ve written songs for other artists—do you prefer writing for yourself or collaborating?

Of course I’m a huge fan of other people’s music. Sometimes when I listen to myself it’s pretty annoying, like I don’t want to do this to other people. [Laughs.] I like trying to work with as many people as possible. At a younger age I was probably a little bit more ego, but now I’m just like, whatever. Let’s go.

Is there anybody you’d love to work with that you haven’t yet?

I want to work with Hozier.

I only just learned he’s like eight feet tall and Irish.

That’s what makes me love him even more!

What’s the biggest change in your life over the last five years?

Well, I can go to the dentist. I can afford health care. I’ve bought a house, that’s huge. Nothing big and fancy. I don’t really need much. Honestly, all of us—we don’t really need much.

It’s just this cute little house, and I’ve got my flowers, I’ve got my ideas of gardening, but I’m too gone right now for it.

I know why I’m going [forward in my career], honestly, but I sometimes forget why I’m still going. But then I remember. I feel like I’ve taken a position as a healer in some sort of way, not in the way of therapy where you go talk to someone, but it’s more therapy where you’re listening to music and you kind of heal in a way through song. I do that with other people’s music all the time.

I’m doing a lot of work on myself. I’ve got a lot of healing to do. I’m on the right path. I’m aware of what is wrong in a lot of ways, but not always aware or even know exactly how, to rewire the brain to make you feel lighter. I’m pretty tortured in a lot of ways, but like I said, I’m on the right journey of healing and I’m doing a lot of my work. It’s kind of funny to me because I myself am a healer, but as this person who is helping so many people, I myself still have a lot of healing to do.

So you bought this house. Is that going to be long-term home base, you think? Nashville?

For now. I kind of want to move to Spain and learn Spanish and eat tacos forever.

As a southern California native I would also recommend Mexico for tacos.

I love Mexico, dude. I was just there. I feel like I have a deep connection. I’ve got some Iberian blood, and a lot of times when I talk about Spain I get goosebumps and I’m like, I need to go. I feel like my ancestors are just…

Calling to you?

Yeah, they’re calling for me. I wish I knew more about my lineage—like where my ancestors hung out, ya know?

I think that our DNA is a blueprint. We might not know why we’re scared of something, but then maybe our great-great-great-grandfather was scared of something. Now you have this fear and you don’t know why you have it, and it’s because it’s been passed down through the coding of your DNA.

Have you done a DNA test?

Yeah, I’ve done one. I don’t really know how much I believe it, but I think it’s really cool. And what showed up, some of it made a lot of sense to me about why I’m drawn to certain styles of music, or why I feel a certain way. I definitely feel like we have more of a connection in that realm than what we’re aware of or told or talk about much.

Tell me about the beginning of your career and growing up in West Virginia.

Well, I’ve always been a singer. I’ve always loved singing. It’s just something that was in me. It’s something that I feel like maybe even my ancestors did it, and it’s something that feels natural on me.

It was definitely a journey because, believe it or not, for how flamboyant I’m, I’m a pretty shy person. I feel like I’ve definitely broken barriers in that sense where it’s not as bad, it’s easier for me from where I’m doing it a little longer. I’ve been chipping away at that.

Did you take vocal lessons as a kid? Your voice is amazing.

I’ll say that music programs in schools are so important, and that’s what honestly kind of helped me dial in a lot of my sound and find my voice. Just getting to speak freely, admire people…that is so powerful and beautiful.

“American Dreaming” is one of my favorite songs off your album. It feels almost like an anthem. What was going on in your mind when you wrote that song? Where were you at mentally?

I was doing a lot of touring then, and I was working a lot. So I was not in a really good place because I wasn’t paying attention to my body. I wasn’t listening to my body; I wasn’t listening to my mental health. And if you don’t listen to your body whenever it’s speaking to you and it’s telling you, “Hey, slow down,” it will make you slow down.

So it was just me teetering between mental breakdowns and playing shows, giving, giving, giving, giving, giving. I just wasn’t refilling my cup. I was probably drinking too much. I will say, it’s a tough thing to do because when you’re out here, it’s like, you’re a party maker.

So it’s, Well, I’ll just have a couple drinks or whatever. And then before you know it, you’re drinking a lot. It’s not really an issue for me these days, but it’s easy to fall back in that routine. And it’s not good. It’s not healthy. We’re all on our own journeys, and we all find these things out at different times, at different periods.

What has been the most exciting moment of your career so far?

The most exciting moment is the enthusiasm from all these amazing artists, these amazing talented musicians that I get to work with, just how enthusiastic they are to work with me. I think that’s really special because it is hard to find people that you can stick with and make something magic. I feel like I’ve been finding my people, and it’s been a fun ride.

Originally Appeared on Glamour