Illinois Entertainer November 2015 | Page 10

corner. When I stopped drinking, I went out on the road. It was the only thing I could think of doing." The title track of Hay's newest album Next Year People examines others who struggle through adversity, banking upon the inevitability that life will get better. It applies to Depression-era farmers in the photo on the album's artwork, and might reflect in a smaller way upon Hay's own journey. Hay was inspired by Ken Burns' 2012 PBS documentary The Dust Bowl. choly, which is not particularly healthy," says Hay with an honest laugh. "You have to be careful.” Hay wrote the song as a character sketch with frequent collaborator Michael Georgiades. "The guy in the song didn't have anything to do with us necessarily, but we knew exactly wh