Kacey Musgraves @ American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX

Words and photos by Scott Rowe

It's strange to call Kacey Musgraves playing at the American Airlines Center a 'local show' but in essence, that's exactly what it was. Growing up in Golden, TX, a hop, skip, and jump away from the Metroxplex (less than 90 minutes away), there's been no better story of progressive stardom from North Texas outside of Leon Bridges. But at the pace that she's rising in popularity, Ms. Musgraves will be performing at Jerry World, aka AT&T Stadium, sooner rather than later. The last time Kacey graced a stage in North Texas, she performed at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, where she was showcasing her fourth release, Golden Hour, a landmark album that not only received widespread popularity but also garnered critical acclaim. The album went on to win two Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Country Album, but she also won for Best Country Solo Performance ("Butterflies") and Best Country Song ("Space Cowboy"). So coming home is no small task for the singer-songwriter from small town, Texas. It's an exclamation point on her current standing in popular music and as a citizen of the State of Texas.

With two very contrasted albums in 2018's marriage album (Golden Hour) and last year's divorce album (star-crossed), it would only be natural that the star-crossed: unveiled tour date would fall on Valentine's Day, where the topic of embracing love and/or loss of love would be front and center. Musgraves opened the set walking onto a dark stage, with nothing but a white rose in hand and a microphone in the other, as her band built up the music of "star-crossed" until they hit their crescendo and a giant heart bursts into flames behind the musicians. star-crossed took the spotlight early, as five songs of the set were from the 2021 album, including "good wife", "cherry blossoms" and "breadwinner". But it didn't take long for Golden Hour to shift the mood, as the next five songs came from the 2018 release which included "Golden Hour", "Butterflies" and "Space Cowboy".

The bulk of the show, 17 out of 19 songs, were from star-crossed and Golden Hour, leaving only two songs that weren't featured on these two album; only one song from Same Trailer Different Park made the setlist, with no songs from Pageant Material making the cut. With the single cover from the set, Musgraves and company took on Fleetwood Mac's renowned "Dream", offering a decent rendition of the beloved song. While the song "gracias a la vida" is technically a cover, it's the last track on star-crossed and also the last song of their set. With only her guitarist and a background of candles, the minimalist performance proved to be a great segue into the show's encore. Both songs of the encore were pulled from Golden Hour, including "Slow Burn" and a show-stopping performance of "Rainbow". With spotlights cascading upon Kacey and the slow pushing of the keys on a piano, it provided a massive singalong and a touching finale to a show that was part spectacle, part storybook, and all Kacey Musgraves.

Photos of the show are below:

enjoy.