Story and Photos by Peyton Tranas | Contributing Writer
Kacey Musgraves brought her “Star-Crossed: Unveiled” tour to Nashville. Bridgestone Arena glistened in rainbows and confetti as Musgraves performed songs from her “Star-Crossed” (2021) album, as well as hits from past albums.
After having moved to Nashville nearly 13 years ago, this was practically a hometown show for Musgraves. During her performance she even commented on how many people from her personal life were in attendance, even including her therapist and general practitioner.
Before Musgraves graced the stage in her all red outfit, two opening acts hit the stage. L.A. based pop-group, MUNA, opened the show. They performed a handful of their synth-filled, pop melodies, including their newest single, “Silk Chiffon”, to an enthusiastic crowd that was ready to dance the night away.
Second to come on stage was King Princess. With a slightly longer set than MUNA, King Princess dazzled the crowd while wearing a shirt that said “TopGolf Nashville” and singing her biggest hits.
Once the lights went down for the third time and the opening notes of “star-crossed” began to play, the crowd erupted in screams because they knew Kacey Musgraves would be stepping on stage at any moment.
Within her 18 song setlist, Musgraves weaved pop and country sounds to create a picture-perfect performance. She thanked her audience for staying with her while she explores new sounds and switches back and forth between traditionally country-sounding and pop-sounding songs. The diversity in the crowd was evident, from moms attending with their daughters to LGBTQ+ couples enjoying a fun date-night, it proved that Musgraves had something in her music that everyone wanted to hear.
A unique experience that Musgraves provided for fans was “Kaceyoke”. She held a scroll with four song choices: “No Scrubs” by TLC, “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” by The Fugees, and “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton. Musgraves picked a fan from the audience to pick which track they’d like for her to sing, and sticking to the Tennessee theme, Parton’s song was chosen. While Dolly herself was not on stage, the energy and enthusiasm for the song and Parton were evident throughout the arena.
From “Star-Crossed,” deep-cuts like “simple times”, to singles off of the Grammy-winning album “Golden Hour,” to “Same Trailer, Different Park” hit “Merry Go ‘Round”, Musgraves continuously engaged with fans and had the 20,000+ audience members screaming every lyric back to her. She showed critics that she knows her audience well and can be a country princess and pop icon all at the same time.
Musgraves ended her show with “Rainbow”, her emotional ballad from “Golden Hour,” as some subtle, and not-so-subtle, tears from both the audience and Musgraves were shed.
Though the theme of “Star-Crossed” was heartbreak and healing from divorce, the audience was there to dance, sing, and maybe even have a moment of healing for themselves as Musgraves serenaded everyone throughout the night.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Ethan Pickering, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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