Kacey Musgraves Transforms Bridgestone Arena Into A Lush, Scenic Wonderland

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Kacey Musgraves. Photo: Natasha Moustache/CMAs

Kacey Musgraves took over Bridgestone Arena this weekend for two sold-out shows, wrapping up her “Deeper Well Tour.” She turned the arena into outdoor enthusiasts’ playground.

Bluegrass trio Nickel Creek were the first to take the stage, treating fans to a string of original tunes like “Scotch & Chocolate,” “Where The Long Line Leads,” “Helena” and “This Side.” They also shared their own rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” as well as the fan-favorite “Smoothie Song.” The band wrapped up their 30 minutes with a cover of Mother Mother’s “Hayloft,” before ending with “The Fox” and “Destination.”

Indie rock band Lord Huron was on next, opening their 45-minute set with hit “Meet Me In The Woods,” as well as original tunes “Dead Man’s Hands” and “Ends Of The Earth.” For “Secret Of Life,” lead singer Ben Schneider used a payphone turned microphone, adding an exciting element into the stage. “I Lied” and “Let The Devil Come” delighted the crowd before the payphone came back out for “Wait By The River.” The band ended the night on a three-track run of “The World Ender,” “The Night We Met” and “Not Dead Yet,” exciting their fans and also making new ones before exiting the stage.

As the full arena was buzzing with anticipation, a curtain of the tour logo was lifted up and Musgrave’s band began to take the stage. From the very first moment, the production was superb, with the video wall displaying a starry sky above a moonlit structure, creating a striking outer space landscape. A silhouette of Musgraves falling from the sky flashed down the screen, as the singer stepped onto the stage herself for her opening track “Cardinal.” After drawing the crowd in from the first note to the last, Musgraves was lifted up into the air, mimicking the earlier silhouette graphic.

The video wall lit up with graphics of butterflies flying around as she graced the audience with “Butterflies” from her Golden Hour album, showcasing her vocal range right off the bat. After a roaring applause from the crowd after the fan-favorite, Musgraves reflected on her time on the road this year.

“I’m a little emo about it. If I think about it too much, I might get a little sad,” shared Musgraves. “We started this tour back in May in Ireland and now we’re here. I’m so honored to be here tonight and to have all your faces here in this sold-out room.”

Musgraves continued to show off her masterful performance skills with more tracks off her Deeper Well album including “Sway” where she led the crowd in a swaying motion, “Giver/Taker,” utilizing the video wall to show a house in the hills, and “Too Good To Be True” before displaying a colorful sunset background for “Golden Hour.”

“Do you ever feel like you’re feeling two really big, very different emotions at the same time and you just don’t know what to call it?” Musgraves asked to the crowd before “Happy & Sad,” displaying the beautifully written lyrics in the background. Musgraves wrapped up the first part of her set with “Lonely Weekend” and “Lonely Millionaire” before walking through the crowd over to her B-stage.

In the center of the arena stood Musgraves’ second stage, a lush grassy setup with Saturn suspended above it. She opened her time on the stage with the powerful “Follow Your Arrow” off her Same Trailer Different Park album, acknowledging her day-one supporters and new fans alike.

 

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“I had a song planned, but I think I’m gonna see what you guys want to hear,” Musgraves said as she started to walk around the stage. She asked two fans dressed as giving trees which song they would like to hear, resulting in Musgraves playing “Dinner With Friends,” drawing a huge reaction from the arena. Before the next track, Musgraves’ band exited the center platform, leaving just the singer-songwriter and her guitar.

“I had time to write one more song for Deeper Well,” she began. “I wrote this next song with two of my really good friends Josh [Osborne] and Shane [McAnally]. To be honest, this song was written a couple weeks after the Covenant School shooting happened here. This song is just a big question mark, how much control do we really have?” Following the emotional story, she brilliantly performed “The Architect.” You could hear a pin drop in the room as she had the entire crowd locked in.

With the final performance on the center stage, Musgraves brought her band back out as well as Nickel Creek, where the group performed an exciting cover of SZA’s “Kill Bill,” with the whole crowd singing along. She then made her walk back through the crowd to the main stage.

“Jade Green” got things kicked back off, before fan-favorite “Slow Burn” took over the arena, with everyone swinging their arms back and forth and singing at the top of their lungs. With fog blasting through the air, Musgraves gave a flawless performance of “Space Cowboy.”

It was time to pull another album out of Musgraves’ impressive catalog, with the singer performing “Justified” off her Star-Crossed project. As Musgraves walked towards the back of the stage, a moon was displayed in the background as she sang Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon.” Afterwards, Bridgestone Arena was turned into a rave for “High Horse,” with giant balloons being tossed around the pit, a disco ball hanging over a line dancing Musgraves and confetti cannons shooting off.

“I really can’t tell you how much this community means to me,” she explained. “I wouldn’t be who I am without Nashville and the songs and home its given me.” After introducing her band, Musgraves wrapped up her 90-minute enthralling show with “Deeper Well” and Rainbow” as a colorful background illuminated the star.

Madison Hahnen
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