Encoring her four major Grammy wins last month, including Album of the Year, Kacey Musgraves concluded two sold-out nights of love from her home state on Sunday at Stubb’s. Country music moms, indie rock lovers, and preteens alike ate up the crossover star’s yee-haw antics. Fittingly, “Slow Burn” opened the show’s chilled-out first portion.
East Texan from Golden, 30, the singer’s spot-on sextet, the Crispy Boys, pushed a refreshingly easygoing pace last night on the big Red River stage over the course of 100 minutes. The renowned, cannabis-loving crooner invited audience members to put up their middle fingers before “Butterflies,” and quipped, “Damn, that smells good!” during “High Time.” All amounted to a Zen pop performance with no sharp edges.
Band and bandleader gathered at the front for the stage for rootsy intimacy, launching “Oh, What A World” on banjo, cello, and stand-up bass. Behind her guitar, Musgraves recounted her time living in Austin. Local recollections included her first gay bar visit and only “real job.”
Commentary continued before a lovely rendition of “Love Is A Wild Thing,” wherein the Lone Star breakout ensured, “Even though it doesn’t always seem that way, love will always trump hate.”
The band returned to their stations for the launch of Golden Hour’s disco beats and vocoder use. “Velvet Elvis” amped up on big bass and a sassy chorus, while Spacey Kacey led “yee” to “haw” crowd callbacks. The diva continued her Houston Rodeo-debuted tribute to Selena’s “Como La Flor,” tipping her cowgirl hat to another boundary-breaking Texas queen.
A techno-touched edition of Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon” launched a string of concluding new and old favorites. With no encore, just a giant balloon release, the takeoff star stayed on a gentle incline. Kacey Musgraves’ slow burn at Stubb’s never lost its buzz.
This article appears in March 8 • 2019.