Kacey Musgraves may have evolved her sound over the last decade, but the core of her music — songwriting steeped in a wisdom well beyond her years — hasn’t changed a bit.
“Music for me is definitely a place where I kind of work out a lot of those questions that are always swirling around in my mind,” Musgraves told NPR earlier this year. “You know, songs for me are such a fertile ground to say things that might be harder to say in real life. You know, I don’t know why it’s easier for me to say some of this stuff, especially the relationship stuff, like, in song.”
The Grammy-winning girl from Golden is touring behind her sixth and latest studio album, Deeper Well, a more meditative work, and will return to American Airlines Center on Nov. 22 and 23 for her first headlining shows in North Texas in over two years.
To get you ready for her triumphant homecoming, here’s a playlist charting the shifts in her sound over the course of her career to date.
“Follow Your Arrow”
Same Trailer Different Park is deceptive, only because Musgraves had spent the better part of a decade honing her craft in Texas before making her major label debut. Given that, Park is unsurprisingly polished, best exemplified by this live-and-let-live anthem which helped Musgraves make her mark on a bigger stage.
“Pageant Material”
Despite attaining fame and acclaim for her major label debut, Musgraves didn’t (and still hasn’t) sacrificed her rapier wit and deft phraseology. The title track from her 2015 album is a perfect example of wrapping sly commentary about the societal pressures on women inside an infectious, country-adjacent earworm.
“Slow Burn”
For her third major label album, Golden Hour, Musgraves made a pivot from which her contemporaries continue to draw inspiration (e.g., Leon Bridges’ own introspective, folky turn on his latest, Leon). The deliberate, spacey vibe found on the single “Slow Burn” illustrated Musgraves was plenty capable of holding attention as she slowed the tempo.
“Justified”
Musgraves’ fifth major label album is broken-hearted Technicolor — her moodiest, and most pop-inflected, work to date, star-crossed flirted with revenge, but mainly sifted through the shattered pieces of a relationship, although, as “Justified” shows, she’s still capable of mixing self-help with a side of attitude.
“The Architect”
Having soothed her aching soul, Musgraves finds clarity and purpose with her latest LP, Deeper Well. It’s not quite a full circle moment — there are musical echoes of Park here, but only faintly — yet Well feels like the most stripped-back, song-forward work the artist has made in a few years. That directness only intensifies its potency.
Kacey Musgraves at American Airlines Center, Dallas. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22-23. Tickets are $59.50-$200.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
