Beth Bombara photo by Virginia Harold
Americana Highways’ Key to the Highway series
Fans always clamor to learn more about their favorite, most beloved musicians and those who travel with them. There’s such an allure to the road, with its serendipity, inevitable surprises, and sometimes unexpected discomforts. This interview series is a set of questions we are asking some of our favorite roots rock Americana artists to get to know more about them and what they’ve learned and experienced on the road for music. We are sure they have key insights to share and stories to tell. Here’s one from Beth Bombara.
Americana Highways: How do you like your coffee or other morning wake-up beverage?
Beth Bombara: I usually make a pour over coffee, and drink it black.
AH: What’s the most interesting or strangest motel/hotel or place you have stayed (while on the road for music?)
BB: Well, I’ve been doing this for a long time and early on, my band and I ended up sleeping in a record store on the floor in our sleeping bags. Probably the only time we ever got to shop for records at 1 am.
AH: If one CD is stuck in the player in the van for the entire tour, what do you hope it is? And why?
BB: Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks CD. This gem of 1996 would put a smile on my face for a long time. As a teen growing up in the 90’s, this is also a nostalgic trip in the best way.
AH: What’s one personal item you must have with you on your road trip?
BB: A good old fashioned notebook and ink pen.
AH: What is your relationship with food? How do you handle this on the road, and what’s your favorite dish on the road, (or restaurant, and what do you order there)?
BB: I love food, I think it’s in my Italian blood. I’m always looking to try new things, especially if there’s a unique local cuisine. One time in Houston I had Viet-Cajun food for the first time and loved it. If I ever see shrimp and grits on a menu when I’m traveling, I get it. It’s hard to eat well on the road, so I usually try to supplement some meals with going to a grocery store or local market for some fresh fruit and veggies to snack on.
AH: If you could pause your life for a few weeks and spend some time living in a place you only have passed through, which would you choose, and why?
BB: Glasgow, Scotland. It’s beautiful country, and I had a wonderful time passing through there once. It’s amazing that there’s more sheep than people in Scotland, and I’d definitely spend some time on a sheep farm learning about raising sheep. Even though I’m mostly a bourbon gal, I really appreciate a good scotch and doing a tasting in Scotland would be amazing.
AH: What quote or piece of advice have you gotten from someone on the road that has really stuck with you?
BB: One time, I opened up for the Old 97’s and was visibly nervous before getting on stage. Rhett Miller told me that nerves were a good thing, and that I could focus on channeling them into positive energy. That’s really made a difference for me.
Find more information and tour dates for Beth Bombara here: https://bethbombara.com
See other Key to the Highway interviews here: https://americanahighways.org/category/interviews/key-to-the-highway-series/ (click here for: Vince Herman Jimmy Smith Ben Nichols Bruce Cockburn Charlie Musselwhite Nicki Bluhm Jim White Danny Barnes Patterson Hood Jerry Joseph BJ Barham Rodney Crowell Todd Snider Elizabeth Cook Tommy Womack Eric Ambel, Dan Baird, Robbie Fulks, Malcolm Holcombe Jon Langford Steve Poltz, Lilly Hiatt Sarah Shook & the Disarmers Sadler Vaden )
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