Sara Bareilles: Good Grief
Josh Alexander‘s beautifully raw peek into the world of musician Sara Bareilles. In March 2025, Sara and her band gather in Woodstock, NY, to record for six days. The result is a stunning exploration of unfiltered honesty and all the feels.
Bareilles’s artistic journey from folk-pop star to Tony-nominated writer makes all the sense in the world if you’ve been a fan since forever. Waitress absolutely deserved all the Tonys. Sorry, not sorry, to another musical bestie, Lin. Sara has this uncanny ability to cut your soul to ribbons with her interpretation of a song you thought you knew well. She’s fantastic at a musical gotcha when covering a song she didn’t write. The doc feels like that because it’s all new to us.
Confessional lyrics that make you cry (that’s a warning for around the 20-minute mark, but not the last), paired with gorgeously cut close-ups in the church studio, sweep you away. It feels like a live concert just for you. Alexandra delivers the organic revelations of creation.
The collaboration of creatives crosses the borders of intimacy. As a theatre kid (and, yes, I’m 46, but I’ll always refer to myself as such), I felt like a member of the band. The silly stories, inside jokes, the ability to play and read eachother’s minds, without judgement. It’s a beautiful thing I wish upon everyone.
It’s impossible not to connect with her writing. Despite the extremely personal lyrics, they are entirely universal. It is the magic of music. Good Grief is a testament to the process of grief, how a joy you never thought possible could spring from the deepest sadness. It is an emotional roller-coaster, and we should be glad for every beat. Be prepared to feel it all.
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