A Star-crossed Spectacle: Kacey Musgraves Returns to Nashville

Needless to say, a lot has happened since Kacey Musgraves toured her blissful, head-over-heels-in-love album Golden Hour in 2019. She celebrated a well-deserving Grammy-winning album, marking a new era and new sound for the former Texas country-starlet (but you can't take the country out of her as hard as you try, Grammys). She enjoyed a deeply affectionate yet brief marriage with singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly. And, you know, a pandemic.

And most recently, Musgraves has enjoyed a world tour of her triumphant album star-crossed, a truly unique glimpse into the bewildering extravaganza of celebrity divorce. The reason behind Kelly and Musgraves' separation remains a mystery, yet threads have been woven together when offered (see "breadwinner" off star-crossed as well as Musgraves open advocacy for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2021. Kelly seems to not appreciate women who can think for themselves). But that's hardly the point of star-crossed; the public never needs the whole story, just Musgraves attempts to piece together the remains.

When the star-crossed World Tour was announced, I couldn't help but wonder "what songs will she perform?" (after the initial scramble to secure tickets -- Musgraves' popularity has soared since 2019, as well). Despite it being her biggest album, Golden Hour is a deeply personal and intimate glimpse into her young marriage. 

It was material that many artists would not be expected to trudge out on stage along with their newly-minted divorce anthems, and continue to celebrate an exciting era of independence. I was convinced Golden Hour would be absent from the setlist.

I was wrong.

When Kacey greeted the crowd after a stellar opening act in King Princess and three killer star-crossed cuts, she promised her return to Nashville, Tennessee (the youthful country song-writers' hub) was a special night. "My man's here," she says slyly to rapturous applause, quickly following up with, "my general practitioner is here, too."

This statement seemed to complicate the night for me: here we are, celebrating a woman's divorce alongside songs about her marriage with her new beaux. It was nothing more than an afterthought as Musgraves ripped her way through a jam-rock-infused "High Horse" and a cover of Dolly Parton's "9-5". The star-crossed tour had one thing Golden Hour did not: spectacle, although, at the expense of the intimacy that made the 2019 shows sparkle.

When Musgraves does play songs from Golden Hour, she's sporting an acoustic guitar, absent in live star-crossed tracks except for "justified". Despite her new lyrical and content directions, the pain of Golden Hour seems to be all too real, and the guitar seems to act as a shield between her and her words.

One can hardly blame her. Golden Hour defined an era of alternative-country love songs and soundtracked the first dance to my wedding. In an age where few people wrote about falling in love, Musgraves made it cool again. It's hard to imagine the era hasn't been soured quite a bit. 

Yet, as the Golden Hour songs kept rolling in, it seemed to mean less about Ruston Kelly and more about falling in love all over again, with this cool Capricorn poet. I doubt few artists can take the soundtrack to a first marriage and rewrite the tender history to match a new relationship, yet Musgraves' delivery and showmanship during renditions of "Butterfly" seem to do just that.

After the concert, I lamented another four year wait for more Kacey Musgraves, and another chance to see her live. Her personality and charm has made every concert-going event worthwhile, and her comfort with her live band seems to improve with each tour. But after the sold-out arena tour of star-crossed, it's hard to imagine her improving upon the pageantry.

Maybe next tour, each ticket comes with a free tequila shot and fans can join in on her mid-concert toast to independence.

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What dance move is Dane's go-to for concerts? Wrong answers only, and winner gets the penny stuck in Brandon's couch cushion! Hit the comment's section below!

- Ritter