Kacey Musgraves Brings Her Awe-Inspiring Artistry To Bridgestone Arena

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Kacey Musgraves performs at Bridgestone Arena. Photo: Courtesy Sandbox Entertainment

When Kacey Musgraves brought her “Star-Crossed: Unveiled Tour” to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Friday night (Feb. 11), a wide-ranging demographic of fans came out to see the Texas native’s highly anticipated show.

After releasing her 2018 album Golden Hour to worldwide commercial and critical acclaim, Musgraves has found her music and her fame expanding far past any genre lines. With messages of acceptance in her lyrics that have been present since the beginning, and a sound that incorporates elements of country and pop, Musgraves reaches a wide-base of listeners.

Musgraves put it best during the show when she thanked the fans for allowing her to make music that isn’t bound by genre lines. “Thanks to the day-ones for embracing all these chapters: the ones that sound country and the ones that don’t sound country. They all come from me,” she said.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Bridgestone Arena. Photo: Courtesy Sandbox Entertainment

In keeping with the tragic aesthetic of Star-Crossed, Musgraves entertained from a heart-shaped stage with royal red curtains, white columns, and a golden arch behind her. Concert-goers donned their light up cowboy hats, feathers and rhinestones, and red Star-Crossed inspired attire.

She opened the show with a goosebump-inducing rendition of her cinematic title track “Star-Crossed.” To deafening screams, Musgraves emerged from behind the curtains wearing a red, leather ensemble. A flaming heart outlined a smoldering Musgraves as she set the scene for the rest of the evening.

After getting things started with “Star-Crossed,” a crew member with white angel wings brought the singer her guitar. She went into “Good Wife,” changing the last lyric from “I just wanna be a good wife” to “I know I was a good wife.”

Kacey Musgraves performs. Photo: Lydia Farthing

Confetti in “every shade of pink” fell from the rafters during “Cherry Blossom.” Later in the night, Musgraves would break out her leaf blower to blow off some confetti that landed on the stage. “This isn’t part of the show,” she joked.

As expected, the visuals for the “Star-Crossed” tour were striking. A pair of converse hung on a telephone wire for “Simple Times,” and multi-colored laser beams shot across the arena during “There Is A Light.”

She dedicated a portion of her set to the beloved Golden Hour, playing “Golden Hour,” “Butterflies,” “Lonely Weekend,” “Space Cowboy,” and “High Horse.” While the audience was thrilled to hear songs from Musgraves famed project, her performance had a melancholy feel.

Before launching into another Star-Crossed favorite, the Grammy-nominated “Camera Roll,” Musgraves stopped to address her home-town crowd. She basked in the screaming of her adoring fans before saying, “I moved here at the end of 2008, I was 19. Holy shit, now you’re selling out Bridgestone with me! It’s pretty nuts.

“My general practitioner is here,” Musgraves quipped. “My therapist is in the house!”

At one point in the night Musgraves broke out the karaoke mic. One lucky show-goer got to pick the song she sang. She chose wisely, picking Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.”

Another special moment came when Musgraves performed her very first single “Merry Go ‘Round” with just her and a guitar.

When it came time for Musgraves to end the show, she went out the way she came in: with drama. The singer sang a perfect rendition of “Gracias A La Vida,” not missing a beat with her Spanish. With a dozen roses in her hand, Musgraves serenaded us goodnight with a haunting vocoder occasionally distorting her vocal. She slowly walked up some stairs before falling backwards, arms crossed, off the stage as the curtain closed.

After a booming crowd demanded her return, Musgraves re-emerged for an encore of “Slow Burn” and “Rainbow,” before bidding the Nashville crowd adieu.

LB Cantrell
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