Watch: Margo Price Talks ‘Strays,’ Memoir, Magic Mushrooms and More

On Nov. 8, Margo Price appeared on the Sarah Silverman hosted Daily Show. During the program, Price discussed a series of topics with Silverman, the night’s guest host, touching on her latest LP, writing her memoir, and her transformative psychedelic experiences which enabled her to quit drinking. In addition to the conversation, Price performed her Strays cut, “Lydia.” 

In melding her history into the conversation, Price touched on her musical rise and lead-up to Strays, “I got my start with this old-school country album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter– and Jack White put it out. And things kind of turned around for me. But yeah, with this album, I just wanted to be able to go out there and not be pigeon-holed.” 

Silverman joked about mind expansion through the use of psilocybin mushrooms, in combination with the artist’s writing experience, eliciting Price’s response: “It’s been pretty transformative for me. The first time I had a psychedelic trip, I was 20 years old, and I dropped out of college and moved to Nashville. [Laughs.] Highly suggested for anybody who does not want to get into student loan debt.” 

She continued, “Then the next time I took it, I wrote this album, and then the third time I took it, I decided to quit drinking alcohol, which had really been a challenge for me. It was kind of after I started reading about Bill Wilson and the work he did with AA.” Price went on to mention the history between acid use and Alcoholics Anonymous, highlighting the transformative qualities of psychedelic intake.

A series of political questioned ensued, emphasizing the musician’s commitment to gun control.  As a follow-up, Silverman asked Price about the challenges of being liberal in a country world. She answered, “I definitely don’t get invited to their parties. But that’s OK; their parties suck,” she joked before offering with sincerity, “I like pushing boundaries, I like to push limits. I think that if we can have conversations–we live in such polarizing times–and really if we could just realize that we’re more alike than we think and begin to talk about these things.”   

She added her hopes to destigmatize mushrooms with an emphasis on open conversations as the catalyst for change. Following the thought-provoking back and forth, Price delivered a live performance of “Lydia,” watch below.