Rival Sons’ Scott Holiday on Staying ‘Present’ Through Sobriety

Scott Holiday is all about being “present,” including while on tour with hard rock band Rival Sons. And sobriety is crucial to that mindset.

“In this job, it’s really easy to become an accidental alcoholic,” Holiday tells SPIN backstage at Louder Than Life 2023. “A drink before the show, a couple drinks after the show. … Just day after day after day. You’re not feeling like you’re binge-drinking. But then you end the tour and come home, and you start looking and calculating it, like, ‘I think I drank every single day. I’m pretty sure that is alcoholism. And then if you spice a little bit of drugs into that, you’re just going, ‘This is a lot of damage. There were a lot of hungover days here.’”

Holiday says that he wound up feeling “really disconnected” while on tour. And while he says he never hit “rock bottom,” he was inspired to make a change.

“[Now] I’m enjoying touring. I’m enjoying being present. I’m enjoying the people every night,” he says. “This is the best I’ve ever felt. No hangovers! I’m ready to go see the town. I’m ready to speak to my family and speak to friends and even speak to fans. … If I go out to talk to them now, I can actually be present for people.”