Review | Kacey Musgraves is staying true to herself

It's a little country, a little pop and a little Cher – the 1970s Sonny & Cher Show version – with an eclectic setlist, a beautiful head of hair, a good sense of humor and not a lot of dance moves. I didn't go into Kacey Musgraves' show at the Santa Barbara Bowl last week with many preconceptions about the country/pop star, but rather found myself pleasantly entertained and more than a little amused by this unique artist.

The evening – which unfortunately had no warm-up band, although Father John Misty and Nickel Creek both joined Musgraves Deeper well World tour before and after the show in Santa Barbara on September 25th – began theatrically, with green smoke, starlights and a silhouette of a Vargas girl figure falling from the sky, before that image seemingly morphed into Musgraves singing along with her guitar stage went. Cardinal” from their 2024 album Deeper well.

Wristbands were presented to random spectators, which lit up in pretty much sync with the lights, adding to the drama of this big stadium-style show. The butterfly graphics that accompanied the 2018 song “Butterflies” were nothing short of Disney princess-worthy, especially when she sang the lyrics, “Now you're lifting me up instead of holding me down / Stealing my heart instead of stealing my crown.” .” ”

“Oh my God, Santa Barbara. I love it. Spirits are strong tonight,” Musgraves said, noting it was her first visit to our city. She pointed to the back of the bowl and said, “That's where the weird but funny stuff goes on – all the way up that mountain up there.” She then directed the audience to join in with another new song called “Sway.” sway, with the refrain: “Maybe someday I'll learn how to sway / Like a palm tree in the wind / I won't break; I’ll just bend over.”

Also from the new album, next up was “Too Good to Be True,” which she said was written from the perspective of “how hard it is after you get hurt.” This was followed by “Golden Hour” from the 2018 album of the same name, with some great close-ups of the band members' hands playing pedal steel and keyboards on a huge screen above the stage (a cool addition to the stage I have). never seen in the bowl before).

“Lonely Millionaire,” another new song, was followed by her 2013 breakthrough hit “Follow Your Arrow,” probably my favorite song of the night. It's an anthem about just being yourself, with hard-to-resist, sassy lyrics like, “If you don't go to church, you're going to hell/If you're first in the front row.” , you're first in the front row. You're a self-righteous son of a – / You can't win if you lose, you'll only disappoint them / Just because you can't beat them doesn't mean you should join them.”

That “just be yourself” vibe continued throughout the night, as Musgraves extolled the virtues of her favorite pink champagne cake from the Madonna Inn on “Dinner with Friends” and performed a cheesy cover of Chappell Roan's “Pink Pony Club” (more pink ) made ), followed by a firing of confetti cannons, which she assured us were all biodegradable.

As a fitting end to an evening that she said she wanted to “end on a really nice, positive note, we have a lot more in common than I sometimes think,” Musgraves introduced “Rainbow,” instead pleading for unity over division. With a bright rainbow floating above her on stage, she sang: “Yeah, there's always been a rainbow hanging over your head… / It'll all be all right” – an excellent idea to say goodbye to her after a fun evening Company.