diff --git a/upgrade_db.sh b/upgrade_db.sh
index c5f4df465..c119e83c8 100755
--- a/upgrade_db.sh
+++ b/upgrade_db.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+PYTHON="./env/bin/python"
+if [ ! -x $PYTHON ]; then
+  echo "No python executable found at ${PYTHON}"
+  if type python2 &>/dev/null; then
+    PYTHON=python2
+  elif type python &>/dev/null; then
+    PYTHON=python
+  else
+    echo "No python executable found anywhere"
+    exit
+  fi
+fi
+
 # Execute from root dir as: bash upgrade_db.sh <db_path>
 for file in db/migrations/*
 do
-  python $file $1 upgrade
+  $PYTHON $file $1 upgrade
 done