Sheryl Crow

The singer-songwriter on her all-star new album, her future, and why Woodstock ’99 was her worst live experience.

- Brian Hiatt

‘It wasn’t meant to be Cavalcade of Stars,” says Sheryl Crow. “Hopefully it feels natural and cohesive.” She’s talking about her impressive mic-drop of a new album, Threads, which includes a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony’s worth of guests (among them: Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, Eric Clapton, Sting, Kris Kristofferson, St. Vincent, James Taylor, Maren Morris, Gary Clark Jr., Emmylou Harris, and Neil Young). The album is intended as the final full LP from Crow, 57, as she plans to focus on singles and other quicker releases. Still, she says, “Never say never.”

This lineup is a real testament to how much your peers respect you. Is it also a bit of well- deserved muscle-flexing on your part?

My fear would be that anybody would think that. Honestly, I made a country record and promoted that, which felt like everything but having an authentic musical experience. So I wanted to just make music with people I love. And it did feel kind of like, “I don’t know how to follow this up, and I don’t really think I want to.”

How important were Emmylou Harris and Stevie Nicks in helping you dream of a place for yourself in music?

Oh, my gosh, so important. Emmylou, she made so many records I loved even before she worked with Daniel Lanois, and then she went on to a whole new way of writing amazing stuff. Red Dirt Girl is a desert-island record for me. I hold her up as a great template. And Stevie is a fully realized artist. She looks at life as one big cinematic moment, and all her songs spring from that. And she still brings it live.