There’s honesty, and then there’s Sierra Ferrell sitting across from John Mayer on SiriusXM’s How’s Life basically laying bare the tug-of-war every artist faces between art, business, and personal sanity.
In the interview, Sierra revealed she’s already written half of her next album—despite telling herself she was supposed to be taking the month off. Rest doesn’t come easy when the industry has wired you to think lying down means you’re being “worthless.”
But the conversation that really stuck with me? Touring.
“Two Weeks, Guys”
Sierra admitted she’s been asking for years to keep her tours capped at two weeks at a time, with space to breathe in between. And every year, her team just keeps stacking more dates in front of her. “They just keep putting it in front of me, even though they know it’s gonna crush me,” she told Mayer.
John’s response? Brutal and true: “Someday you just won’t be there. You just won’t show up. And only then will your management say, ‘We got it.’”
That right there is the kicker. Who’s really in charge of an artist’s career—the person singing the songs or the people booking the shows and cashing the checks?
Pushing Back Matters
Sierra says she’s getting better at setting boundaries, and you can hear the conviction in her voice. Boundaries aren’t just buzzwords—they’re survival tactics in an industry that’ll work you until you’re burnt to ash.
She also touched on her creative process, goosebumps as the ultimate litmus test for a song’s impact, and the dream of Grammy wins. But for me, the biggest takeaway was watching her wrestle—out loud—with the balance of art, work, and life.
It’s a reminder for fans that the concerts we live for come with a cost, and sometimes the bravest thing an artist can do is say no.
Full interview is streaming now on SiriusXM’s Life With John Mayer (ch. 14) and on the SiriusXM app.
What do y’all think—should artists like Sierra be the final word on their schedules, even if it means fewer tour dates, or is the grind just part of the game?