Diana Stubblefield

Professor Balducci

COMM 2000B

2 April 2019

A Night to Remember with Kacey Musgraves

Country music artist Kacey Musgraves and her band performing their second sold out show at

The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, March 23rd.

 Last year country music star Kacey Musgraves released her fourth studio album titled

Golden Hour. Today she is selling out venues all around the world on her Oh What A World

tour. On Saturday, March 23rd Kacey Musgraves played her second sold out show at The Taber-

nacle in Atlanta. It was a beautiful day in Atlanta for a concert. The sun was shining and there

were a lot of people out enjoying the weather.

The queue for Musgraves’ show began at the doors of the venue. As people get in line fans

pass down a sharpie for people to write on their hand what number they are in line just incase

anyone has to leave and come back. Doors to the show open at 7pm so there’s still a few hours

before everyone can start entering. Around 4pm the line was only about forty-five people long.

Everyone in the queue is smiling, laughing, making new friends and having conversations with

one another. They are talking about how excited they are for the show. One fan, Palmer Saggus,

has been waiting to see Musgraves since the last time he saw her when she opened for Harry

Styles on his tour.

“Golden Hour has been on repeat since it was released so finally being able to hear these

songs live has me so excited,” he said.

As time goes on more and more people begin to get in line. Musgraves brings out a very di-

verse group of individuals. The crowd is much different than a crowd some other well known

country artists would attract. There are young people, old people, and people from multiple races

and ethnicities. People are sharing their stories with each other about how they began listening to

Musgraves.

“I love Kacey because she shows so much passion in her music and work. She has so much

respect for people no matter their backgrounds, types, and opinions and it shows through her

writing and her actions and presence on social media,” concert goer Corey Beckett said.
 At 7pm the doors open and pandemonium breaks out. The show is general admission so ev-

eryone is rushing to get inside to be as close as possible. Security checks bags, scans tickets, and

people take off to the barricade.

At 8pm the opening act Sinclair comes out and puts on an energetic show. Most of her

songs are upbeat and the crowd is able to dance along. Near the end of her set Sinclair opens up

to the crowd about her struggles being a gay woman. The crowd is silent as she tells her story

about being kicked out of her home at a young age after coming out to her parents. The crowd

cheers as she talks about how hard she has worked to get to where she is now on tour with Kacey

Musgraves.

It’s finally almost time for Musgraves and the crowd is getting antsy. Everyone is wonder-

ing what she is going to wear. Musgraves is very well known for her extravagant outfits that re-

ally only she can pull off.

The lights go down and everyone goes crazy. The band walks on stage to their instruments

and the sound of an acoustic guitar fills the room. Musgraves comes around the corner wearing a

neon yellow dress and diamond boots. Her first song is “Slow Burn” which also happens to be

the first song on her record Golden Hour. The crowd is screaming the lyrics so loudly that you

can barely hear her.

The first time Musgraves talks to the audience she tells everyone to turn to their neighbor

and give them a high five. She says she wants everyone to feel welcome and that they are sur-

rounded by friends.

“I love everything about Kacey. She uses her voice for the benefit of everyone. She is such

a unique country artist because she stands out from every else in her genre. She sings about
things that so many people can relate to and is influencing others in the genre to do the same. She

is literally beautiful on the inside and out,” Saggus said.

Song after song Musgraves is singing her heart out and the crowd is singing right back to

her. The energy in the room is indescribable. For a few songs in the middle of the set, Musgraves

and her band come downstage center right in front of the crowd. This is the time when Mus-

graves sings some of her slower more intimate songs like “Oh, What A World" and “Love Is A

Wild Thing”.

As the show comes to an end Musgraves performs one of her most popular songs "Follow

Your Arrow” from her first album Same Trailer Different Park. The song has a very progressive

meaning behind it with lines like “Make lots of noise, kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if

that’s something you’re into” that relate to her fans that aren’t on the path of “normalcy” that has

been created by society.

“The diversity and positivity was so powerful and I’m thankful that I got to experience it,”

Saggus said.

Musgraves ended the show with a bang singing “High Horse", her most popular song off of

Golden Hour. She danced around the stage from left to right. Everyone could tell that she was

having the time of her life doing what she loves to do. Some people from her crew come from

side stage and throw out gigantic beach balls into the crowd. Everyone is laughing and hitting

them all around the venue as they continue to sing along. Musgraves created an environment that

was not only accepting and loving, but also fun.

“The overall experience was out of this world. I really feel like she exceeded my already

high expectations. I left the concert feeling so much joy for days just from that experience,”

Beckett said.