It takes a team to make it to the top, especially in country music. And and at age 28, Hannah McFarland is relying on her posse of veteran performers to steer her in the right direction.
Appearing on the Like A Farmer podcast, the Alabama native admits to host Pat Spinosa her ascent has been anything but solo ride. Two singers in particular—Jamey Johnson and Riley Green—have become crucial to her survival in a brutal industry.
“It takes a village, and you’ve got to have a crew around you,” the “Bed I Made” singer said. “You really find out who your friends are, because you do need people that support you as not just an artist, but as a person.”
She tells At the top of that village is country legend Johnson, who she says has gone from idol while growing up to now becoming her full‑blown “protector.”
“Oh my gosh, he has become like Papa Bear to me,” she revealed. “He is so good about looking at someone and being like, ‘Hey, I think you have what it takes, and I don’t want you to make the mistakes that I made.’ So he just helps, he mentors, he guides you.”
She recalls that during her run opening for Green, McFarland flew into Waukee, IA, to watch Johnson— who then threw her straight onstage and into the spotlight.
“As soon as I get there, he goes, ‘Hey, I have an idea—do you want to open for me?’ Because they didn’t have an opener,” she recalled. “And then during his set, he had me up to sing, like, seven songs.”
She’s getting the same kind of big‑brother treatment from Green’s camp, who have continually offer up advice to the fast-rising singer on the road.
“They have all been so incredible,” she says. “The artists have kind of taken me under their wing, and I just pick up a little piece of how to do it right from every team,” she said. “I’ve had some hard times on the road with them this year. And one by one, they come in my green room and they check on me… they’re seriously the best.”
Hannah McFarland Talks About the Toll from the Tour
That support is badly needed, because even at such a young age, the pace powering her rise has become near catastrophic when it comes to rest, recovery and overall mental health.
Sleep, McFarland admits, is often the first thing to go. For years, her touring reality has been a grind with a coffee has only reliable performance “boost.” “I used to fly in day of show, go straight to soundcheck, have like an hour to get ready, and then go on stage—on no sleep,” she said. “That’s tough for me, figuring that one out.”
Her nervous system, she says, has yet to setttle, even after the shows stop. After a rare two‑week stretch back home in Nashville, McFarland, whose next show will be at Stagecoach on April 24, says the crash hit harder than any late night. “I’ve been off for like two weeks, and I’ve never had so much anxiety in my life,” she admitted. “I feel so unproductive. I don’t know how to sit still anymore.”
On the road, all-nighters, unfortunately have become the norm. “Luckily, I don’t really drink, I don’t do—I really don’t do anything,” she said. “So for me, I would stay up late because of FOMO, and I just want to see what everybody else is doing… I’m like, that looks so much fun. You’re gonna feel so sick tomorrow. I’m not.”
Her solution, she says, is surprisingly simple: small, almost mundane habits that help her feel human again. When Green’s or Johnson’s teams give her a spare bunk on the bus so she can wake up at the venue, it’s a game‑changer. “That has helped me out a lot with kind of being able to create a routine,” she said. “I’ll go get coffee, I’ll be able to sit for a second by myself… that’s how I recharge.”
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