From Peppermint Oil To The Drinking Horn, Ella Langley Reveals Her Unique Pre-Show Rituals

In a recent interview with Audacy Music, Ella Langley talks about her dogs, her first big purchase after topping the charts, her first time playing a stadium show, and her unconventional pre-show rituals.

While some bands take a shot or say a prayer before running onstage, Langley says her band does something a bit different. According to Langley, before a show, they will take peppermint oil and rub it in the palms of their hands. They will then talk about their intentions for the show, essentially manifesting good vibes and a positive energy in the crowd.

“We just put a little bit in the palm of our hand, rub it together, and kind of talk about our intentions on the show. What we want the show to be for us, for them, for the crowd. All the good vibes you could possibly think of for walking out there.”

Ella says that they follow this tradition by taking three deep breaths into the palms of their hands. While being a useful tool for vocalists because of its properties that relax the throat, reduce inflammation, and open up the sinuses, peppermint oil is also great at boosting band member morale. According to Langley, the oil gives the band an adrenaline rush comparable to how people use smelling salts before going out to play a sport… just in a little more natural way.

She does warn people to not get the oil in their eyes, though. Ella recounts times when the oil has gotten in the band’s eyes on tour— hilariously mimicking a squinting facial expression.

“We’ve all done it before the show, and then we are in the show and our eyes are watering because there is so much peppermint oil in our eyes.”

Not only do they use peppermint oil, but they also do what Ella calls, “loose body dancing.” They put on some good music and dance around to loosen any tension in the body before a show. While most of these pre-show rituals seem to encourage tranquility, of course, they are still going to have their fun.

The last tradition Langley talks about is the “drinking horn.” Now, if you’re wondering what a drinking horn is— it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a bull horn that she and her band members take shots from.

According to Ella, she originally found the horn at a witchy store in Arkansas when she was looking for stones and trinkets. The owner convinced her to buy it, and since then, she’s made her bandmates take shots out of it for the rest of the Hungover Tour— both off stage and on.

Here’s a video posted to Ella’s TikTok account of the drinking horn in use backstage.

@ellalangleymusic1 two shots of vodka #drinkinghorn #stillhungovertour ♬ original sound – Ella Langley

Of course, it’s made some onstage appearances as well. Here’s a video taken by user @cemberley96 where Ella is onstage sharing the story behind the horn.

@cemberley96 It’s a tradition, gotta love the drinking horn Read More