2020 will go down in history as one of the worst and most difficult years in our history. Every single person has dealt with loss, fear, uncertainty, working from home (or losing a job), rebuilding from tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, recovering from COVID-19 and much more.
For the music industry, live entertainment came to a screeching halt with production folks, crew and musicians losing their respective gigs since artists weren’t able to tour. The industry rallied and many artists pivoted and really helped us navigate through a bad year by releasing a ton of new music and performing virtual shows.
For this post, we’re revisiting some of your favorite artists’ hangover cures, which a few of us could’ve used nearly every day this year while dealing with a global pandemic. We’ve also been able to check in with a few artists about what they hope 2021 brings. One thing is for certain–we are all looking forward to shedding the horribleness of 2020, hopefully getting a fresh start in the new year AND getting through this together.
Audio / Brandon Lay says he hopes to be able to hit the road in 2021.
DownloadBrandon Lay (2021) OC: …I can’t wait. :18
“The one thing that I’m looking forward to most for 2021 is definitely the road. It has been too long, and I am so ready to get with the band. I’m ready for loud music, and I’m ready for fans and seeing familiar faces out there in the crowd. And I just, I can’t wait.”
Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about how people spend the last moments of the year, and the first moments of the new year.
DownloadBrothers Osborne (New Year) OC: (TJ) …next month. :44
JOHN: “I think it’s kind of funny how we spend literally the last moment and the very first moment of every year being extremely intoxicated, extremely, because you don’t want to wait until like 12:30 to get your buzz on. You’ve got to do it before midnight, and then once midnight happens, you’re like, ‘Omigod! Now it’s time to celebrate even more.’ Debauchery is the literally bookending your entire year.” TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.” JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” [laughs] TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.” [laughs]
Audio / Dierks Bentley says he usually looks forward to a "mellow hang" on New Year's Eve.
DownloadDierks Bentley (New Year’s) OC: …in stride. 1:11
“New Year’s is rough. New Year’s hurts no matter what’s going o n. I’ve played a lot of New Year’s shows, you know, but I’ve honestly found that it’s not my favorite night to throw down. Look, for a living, that’s what I do. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I host a big party; not only on stage, but I’ve got friends backstage. It starts before the concert sometimes, [and] it goes long after the concert, so a lot of times on New Year’s, I’m looking for a really mellow hang – a good party, good friends, pretty chill. Some of my best New Year’s – it doesn’t make for great radio – but some of my best New Year’s have been just like actually hearing fireworks go off while I’m in bed, [laughs] and know I’m gonna wake up the next morning for the first day of the New Year feeling great, feeling recharged and I’m ready to go ad go into the New Year feeling good as opposed to going into it with a giant Jagerbomb hangover, which I’ve done many, many times. So, the goal this year is to go into it feeling pretty good and the kids help with that, because you really just don’t want to be hungover with children. It’s not a good feeling. You would probably admit to any crime to get them, just feel better, and get them leave you alone. So, [I’m] gonna try to hit New Year’s this year in stride.”
Audio / Eric Church talks about what he’s looking forward to most in 2021.
DownloadEric Church (looking ahead to 2021) OC: …looking forward to. 1:11
“I think, for me, the thing I’m looking forward to most next year is getting around the corner from this virus and getting some kind of normalcy. I’m confident that next year is when we’ll finally put this in the rearview at some point in time. We’re all looking for a vaccine early in the year and the more we can take the cases down between January and May, I think the higher likelihood that we’ll be on a stage somewhere in the fall, late summer/fall, and then certainly into the fourth quarter. So, I’m looking forward to that. I know there may be some early stuff where we can’t be at capacity. I get that, but I’m looking forward to being back at capacity and being, seeing people grouped up and arms around each other’s shoulders and just, I miss that. I miss playing. I miss the camaraderie. I miss going town-to-town and doing that. It’s just what I was born to do, and I miss seeing the fans. Next year, we’re all hopeful, I’m hopeful and quite confident, actually, that next year will be the year that we get to start doing that and then hopefully more and more as we go. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Audio / Jon Pardi talks about what he's looking forward to in 2021.
DownloadJon Pardi (looking forward to 2021) OC: …that was awesome. :28 “For next year – 2021 – I’m looking forward to some kind of medication/vaccine to help people, to make people immune to this virus that is ruining EVERYTHING! So, I look forward to that and hopefully we’ll get that going and then we’ll be back to concerts and full capacity sports games and bars and honky tonks and…it looks like 2019. Remember 2019? That was awesome.”
Audio / Jon Pardi talks about his go-to hangover cure.
DownloadJon Pardi (hangover cure) OC: …deal with it. :20
“My hangover cure is Bloody Marys, but be careful – because once you have a couple, don’t go to beer, because if you go to beer, you’re gonna start drinking again and you’ll end up a morning drunk. OR if you want to go the non-alcoholic route, there’s nothing you can do for hangovers. [laughs] You just go deal with it.”
Audio / Kacey Musgraves has her own hangover cure.
Download
Kacey Musgraves (hangover cure) OC: …water. Yup! :32
“Coconut water is a major help with hangovers and also, a lot of times we go and eat Vietnamese pho. It’s a soup, and it’s got this awesome broth. You can get different things in it or whatever, but for some reason, it’s just like…it’s almost like a chicken noodle soup kind of an idea, you know, but it’s good. That’s good for hangovers too. That, sleep, Tylenol, coconut water and just water, in general. And when you’re drinking, have your alcohol, drink a little bit of water, drink some more alcohol, drink some water. Yup!”
Audio / KASSI ASHTON IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY TOURING IN 2021.
DownloadKassi Ashton (looking to 2021) OC: …this year. :25
“Next year, I’m looking forward to — all fingers and toes and hair crossed — I’m looking forward to, hopefully, touring. That’s what we all want. That’s why we signed up for this gig in the first place is I just want to be on stage with my friends making music, making art and taking people away from the troubles of this year.”
Audio / Kip Moore gives advice on how to avoid a hangover on New Year’s Eve.
DownloadKip Moore (avoiding hangovers on NYE) OC: …yourself. :03
“Pace yourself on New Year’s – that’s the remedy. Pace yourself.”
Audio / Luke Bryan’s favorite New Year’s Eve has to be when he and his now wife Caroline reunited.
DownloadLuke Bryan (New Years-best) OC: …great night. :17
“My best New Year’s Eve is definitely when my wife and I started back dating. We started back dating right before Christmas, and we went on a trip down to Florida and met some friends. And her birthday is New Year’s Eve. We celebrated it that night. It was just a great night.”
Audio / Parker McCollum says he's most looking forward to in 2021 -- hopefully -- is to get back on the road playing shows.
DownloadParker McCollum (looking forward to in 2021) OC: …to each other. :08
“What I’m most looking forward to in 2021? Hopefully, getting back on stage and people being allowed to stand next to each other.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about what he's looking forward to in 2021.
DownloadTravis Denning (looking forward to 2021) OC: …to normal. :10
“The one thing I’m looking forward to in 2021 is getting back on the road; playing concerts, getting back in the swing of things and just getting back to normal.”
Audio / Travis Denning recalls his favorite New Year’s Eve party.
DownloadTravis Denning (favorite New Year’s Eve party) OC: …it was good. :41
“I think my favorite New Year’s Eve party ever was when my sister got married, and my sister’s party got done at 10:30, 10:45 and she got married right behind a little club that I played a lot in Macon, Georgia called the Crazy Bull and love the owner. We’re boys, you know? So, we just literally walked right over and burned the house down. That was one of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories, ‘cause I got to see my sister and brother-in-law get married and that was such a great, great time, and then me and my older cousin and best friend, we ended up at Waffle House that night, so it was good.”
