Kacey Musgraves certainly dialed up the anticipation ahead of the announcement of her seventh studio album and lead single with a playful teaser campaign that included mysterious city billboards around Nashville (captioned "Dry spell? Call for a real good time"), a promotional hotline number, and an Instagram post captioned "Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere". The first single, Dry Spell, was officially released on 11 March - definitely not a heartbreaking breakup ballad. Instead, it laments the sheer, frustrating boredom of a romantic and sexual drought delivered with deadpan comedic timing and classic Kacey wordplay.
Following the hugely successful pop-centred Golden Hour and the more recent, introspective folk-pop of Deeper Well, I wondered which direction Middle of Nowhere would take us. Inspired by a literal sign in her tiny hometown of Golden, Texas (population under 300), the album finds Kacey leaning beautifully and intentionally into the "un-comfort of the undefined” and reclaiming her sultry country foundations. She masterfully weaves sweeping pedal steel, traditional Western swing, and rhythmic regional Mexican influences into a tapestry that feels warm and familiar but fresh at the same time.
Kacey announced the Middle of Nowhere Tour ahead of the album’s release. While the album’s title evokes a sense of small-town isolation, the accompanying tour is anything but small, spanning massive arenas across North America and the UK. I was thrilled to grab tickets to one of her Madison Square Garden shows. Having caught her on the spectacular Deeper Well Tour, defined by its ethereal set design and perfect vocal delivery, my expectations were high - and she absolutely delivered.
The rotating carousel-esque stage with a screen above meant that there were no bad seats. The shifting visuals and backdrops were absolutely stunning and her vocals were soft and smooth like warm honey. Her band was also phenomenal, especially the accordion player who joins her during a dedicated Tex-Mex and Tejano-influenced mini-set and accompanies her on tracks like her Willie Nelson collaboration Uncertain, TX and Horses And Divorces. I also loved the whimsical touches like an illuminated butterfly drone that flew through the air above the crowd during Butterflies and the massive bedazzled pair of testicles suspended above the stage for her performance of Rhinestoned.
She leaned into a dazzling, rhinestone-embellished look inspired by her signature glam-country style, wearing cute Daisy Dukes, sparkling white tank top and heels, which she ditched as soon as she could. Near the end of the show she delivered a heartfelt tribute to Dolly Parton, featuring a carousel of Dolly images during the performance of Rainbow (she also quoted Dolly’s famous mantra “if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”) followed by a rendition of 9 To 5, much to the excitement of the crowd who were all on their feet as soon as the opening notes started.
The complete setlist was as follows:
Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy
Dry Spell
justified
High Horse
Merry Go 'Round
Butterflies
Abilene
Back on the Wagon
I Believe in Ghosts
Uncertain, TX
Horses and Divorces
(Hey Baby) ¿Qué pasó? (Texas Tornados cover)
Golden Hour
Loneliest Girl
Rhinestoned
Mexico Honey
Middle of Nowhere
Slow Burn
Space Cowboy
Rainbow
9 to 5 (Dolly Parton cover)
Follow Your Arrow
All My Exes Live in Texas (George Strait cover)
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