Kacey Musgraves, the so-called country "rebel," has had quite the journey to become as successful
and well-known as she is today. If you're itching to know where the singer got her start,
we have the answer. Here's a look at the stunning transformation of Kacey Musgraves.
Kacey Musgraves was born in the small town of Golden, Texas in 1988. According to Glamour,
the town was tiny, and the young Musgraves grew up surrounded by wide open spaces, and
her parents ran their own graphic design business in a nearby town.
As Musgraves explained to Billboard in 2018, her childhood home was "in the sticks," far
away from shopping and movie theatres. When she got bored, Musgraves said her mom always
had a solution. As she recalled,
As she explained to Billboard, her rural upbringing got her excited about creating art from a
young age.
Despite her small town origins, Musgraves had a pretty standard childhood for a girl
growing up in the '90s. Like other children her age, she was immersed in '90s music and
culture. She explained to The Guardian how her Walkman shuffled between Spice Girls,
Backstreet Boys, Shania Twain, and Sheryl Crow, as well as all the women in country
music who dominated the airwaves during the decade, charting a course that she would one
day walk herself.
According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Musgraves learned to yodel at eight years
old — and a few years later, the youngster picked up the guitar and the mandolin. At
age nine, Musgraves wrote her first song, "Notice Me," which she sang at her school's
graduation.
According to The Guardian, Musgraves spent her childhood singing Western swing on the
weekends in various country halls in Texas, decked out in boots and rhinestones like a
true young country star.
Musgraves recalled how her whole family supported her musician ambitions. According to the star,
her parents printed promotional flyers in their print shop, her sister took her promotional
photos, and her grandmother booked her gigs. Later, her grandmother even paid for her first
self-released album. Hey, it takes a village!
Throughout Kacey Musgraves' early teen years, the up-and-coming musician got formal music
training from a Texas guitar teaching legend called John DeFoore — who was also responsible
for teaching Miranda Lambert and Michelle Shocked.
DeFoore taught Musgraves in his studio in Mineola, Texas, which was located in the town's
atmospheric abandoned railway hotel.
As Musgraves explained to The Guardian, DeFoore's teaching technique was different for every
student. When it came to her, she said, quote, "Right away he knew I wasn't a kid who was
going to learn by repetition and scales."
So if somebody's out there watching this and they want to be the next Kacey Musgraves or
Miranda Lambert, what's the first thing they need to do?"
"Write."
Apparently, his unorthodox method consisted of asking Musgraves to write a song between
each class. He would instruct her to tape her songs and listen closely to her chord
choices and question them. Musgraves told The Guardian that she believes that this unusual
guitar education is what gave her the confidence and skill to begin a songwriting career of
her own.
After Kacey Musgraves graduated from high school, she packed her bags and moved to Austin
in 2006.
As Musgraves explained to Vanity Fair, living in Austin on her own helped her to grow up
as she figured out how to live on her own while continuing to write songs and perform
shows. But her career started in earnest when she moved to Nashville. As she recalled,
It was during this period that she self-released three albums in an effort to get her career
going. Though she reportedly doesn't think too highly of these early efforts, which may
have been a little juvenile in comparison to her later music, it's clear that she worked
hard to make a name for herself during her early days in Austin and Nashville.
After Kacey Musgraves released her first three albums independently, she finally got her
big break in 2007 on the show Nashville Star – the country music sister to American Idol.
On the show, Musgraves was definitely an emblem of Texan country music, with her solo guitar
and her Texan twang – a far cry from her more glamorous look seen in recent years.
The singer placed seventh on the show — but this didn't stop her from pursuing her dreams.
In 2014, seven years after her stint on the show, Musgraves spoke to Yahoo! about her
time on the program. She confessed,
The star explained that while her performances on the show weren't exemplary of the singer
she'd eventually become, the show itself helped to shape her as an artist, and led her to
develop a thicker skin for criticism.
As Kacey Musgraves' career progressed, she eventually landed a role as one of the songwriters
on the television show Nashville, which dramatized the country music industry in the series'
namesake city.
While writing for the popular show was definitely a huge step in her career, it also marked
an important moment in her personal life. It was on this show that Musgraves met her
future husband, fellow singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly. She explained their connection to Vanity
Fair, saying,
Musgraves went on to explain that the happy relationship that followed actually inspired
her to be even more creative. She's said her song "Oh, What A World" is actually partially
inspired by how grateful she is to have met the man who eventually became her husband.
Ever since Kacey Musgraves' released her first album, Same Trailer Different Park, she has
been labelled as a "rebel" by the media — and the music industry.
Vanity Fair argued that this label came about thanks to her lyrics that centered around
LGBT rights, drug use, and the problematic side of small town life. Musgraves herself
explained that she thinks the label is a little misplaced. She told the publication,
Even though Musgraves believes that the "rebel" label isn't really warranted, it's definitely
shaped her career. Countless articles refer to her "rebellious spirit" or her "rebel twang."
Whether she really is a rebel, or she's simply brave enough to write about real stuff, it's
clear that there has always been something different about Musgraves.
In terms of style, Kacey Musgraves has always had a distinctive "look."
Back in her earlier days, her album covers and music videos featured lots of the commonly
recognized symbols of country music — think big hair, cowboy boots, and fringed jackets.
However, with her fourth album in 2018, Golden Hour, the star's style made a clear shift
towards a glam '70s look.
In 2020, Teen Vogue spoke to Musgraves' stylist, Erica Cloud. Cloud explained that she was
brought onto the team to help Musgraves change directions stylistically with her 2018 album.
Because the album had such a different sound for Musgraves, a different look was required
to promote it. Cloud explained,
They decided upon fashions inspired by the '60s and '70s because it seemed both modern
and nostalgic, which Cloud thought was the perfect mixture for Musgraves' Golden Hour
vibe.
"It's not like she is trying to change who she is, she's just evolving. And a lot of
the pieces I think are rooted in something classic that we try to have a bit of a twist
on."
While Musgraves' Golden Hour years saw her change her clothing style, they also saw her
change her musical style, too. Rolling Stone commented on the album's "sleepy" and "futuristic"
feel, crediting the album for its genre-busting and occasionally trippy vibe.
As Glamour noted, her previous album was filled with witticisms and wordplay. She told the
magazine,
She went on to explain to the magazine how changes in her life made her rethink her musical
style. When she was writing the album, she had just met her husband, causing a positive
shift in her emotional outlook. She explained, quote, "I started to see the world in a more
fond, pretty light," Plus, she was nearing her thirtieth birthday, which made her contemplate
her future in more depth. It's no wonder the album has such a thoughtful, sun-kissed feel!
As Kacey Musgraves told Billboard, her mom's creativity was always an inspiration. In 2018,
Musgraves actually got to work with her mother on an artistic project. As the singer told
Coup de Main, she released a coloring book alongside her album Golden Hour.
Apparently, her mother did all of the illustrations in the book! And that's not all. Musgraves
explained,
How sweet to think of Musgraves and her mom coming together for this joint artistic project!
It's clear that Musgraves still really looks up to her mother as one of her first, and
most influential, inspirations.
Musgraves got a new tour bus after writing Golden Hour, which she decorated herself,
with colorful furniture and butterfly prints. Prior to this, however, Musgraves had shared
a bus with her band for six years. While she had an amazing time living with them, Musgraves
compared living with her bandmates to "summer camp," and acknowledged that she had felt
the need for a more grown-up setup. She called her new bus a "self-care space," where she
could get some much-needed me-time.
It's clear that Musgraves thinks that spending time investing in your own self care is crucial.
During the 2020 pandemic and lockdown, she created a self-care kit for her fans, inspired
by her song "Lonely Weekend." With crafts, bath waters, socks, and a jigsaw puzzle, the
kit gives us some idea of how Musgraves likes to unwind in her spare time.
Kacey Musgraves shocked fans in 2020 when she and her husband Ruston Kelly announced
that they were ending their relationship. This came just two years after Musgraves released
the album which she'd said had been inspired by their relationship.
The couple made a joint statement to Today, saying that they wanted to stop any speculation
about their divorce before it began. The former couple said,
Though Kacey Musgraves may have had a tough start to 2020, the country star is set to
experience plenty of good times and even more career success in the future.
As she told The Guardian in 2019, Musgraves is the type of artist who is never satisfied,
and she's constantly seeking out new inspiration for her music. From her horse to her relationships
to taking small doses of LSD, Musgraves says she is, quote, "inspired by anything that
gives me more appreciation for this living rock we are on, floating in space." Noting
that a change in perspective is a beautiful thing, the country crooner also credited live
music, fresh air, and reading as her inspirations.
While 2020 was definitely a tough year for Musgraves, we think it's pretty clear that
she has had a real "change in perspective." We can't wait to see what amazing new music
the singer-songwriter produces in the future. One thing's for sure: Knowing Musgraves, it's
bound to be another genre-bending, record-breaking sensation!
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