Since bursting onto the scene in 2013, Kacey Musgraves has been making waves in the country
music industry with her impeccable songwriting ability and refusal to conform to mainstream
country music norms.
Here's everything you need to know about the woman redefining an entire genre.
Kacey Musgraves is one of music's brightest stars, but she's far from an overnight success.
The country crooner has been working toward her many accomplishments in the music industry
for most of her life, including performing every weekend in her regional opry circuit
with a live country band when she was only eight years old.
At the age of 12, Musgraves began taking guitar lessons from a local teacher and musician
named John DeFoore, calling the experience one of the most important things that ever
happened to her.
According to Musgraves, DeFoore would push her to write a new song every week - and while
the singer insists her first songs were "pretty bad," she says DeFoore's homework gave her
a new appreciation for the creative process.
In an interview with Robin Roberts, the "Keep It To Yourself" singer revealed that her grandmother
was one of the most instrumental figures in helping the young Musgraves to cultivate a
career in country music.
Musgraves told Roberts:
"I just had one of those families that was like […] “OK, let's get you guitar lessons,
let's load up the minivan, let's go to shows.'
We had really nurturing parents and grandparents that really encouraged us to just be who we
wanted to be."
Musgraves revealed that each of her family members had a hand in helping the aspiring
young singer reach her dreams, but her grandmother was especially involved.
“Grandma would just call people up and be like, ‘Um, I have a great entertainer for
your event.
It’s my granddaughter.’”
You go, Grandma!
From the moment Kacey Musgraves began making major waves in the country music scene, one
thing has been glaringly obvious: she’s far from your typical country darling.
While the country singers of yesteryear helped give the genre a reputation for churning out
depressing ballads about ex-wives, old trucks, and dogs - Musgraves' lyrics tend to live
on the border where classic country and modern social issues meet.
As The Independent noted in a 2019 feature:
"[Musgraves covers] topics most of her peers wouldn't touch with a barge pole - casual
sex, marijuana, macho culture, slut-shaming, the stronghold of religion, and queer acceptance
among them."
“It’s like, I just try to do what I do, and I wanna…
I make myself happy, and do what feels right for me.
And if that makes me an innovator, you know, that’s, um, I’ll take it!”
While Kacey Musgraves is famous for redefining what it means to be a country music artist
and standing behind her lyrics no matter the controversy they may cause, she hasn't always
been so secure.
In fact, she almost gave away her hit song "Follow Your Arrow" to a mega pop star out
of fear that her country fan base wouldn't relate to - or agree with - the song's themes
of inclusivity and equality for all.
In an interview with actress Reese Witherspoon for the series Shine On with Reese, Musgraves
revealed that her label encouraged her to give up what would go on to be a CMA award-winning
hit, telling Witherspoon:
“He was just like, ‘Um.
Sometimes you just have to do things for business that you’re not really that proud of.’
And I was like, ‘That’s the big difference between me and you.’
I was like, ‘I can sleep at night, and I love that.’”
While she considered handing the song over to superstar Katy Perry - who famously has
a loyal LGBTQ fan base - Musgraves ultimately decided to stick to her guns.
“Let’s get on the right side of history here, folks.”
Kacey Musgraves' willingness to be bold and go against the grain of stereotypical country
music has left the country music industry puzzled as to how to classify her work.
And as Musgraves has evolved as a singer and lyricist, so has the confusion of country
music radio.
As noted by The Huffington Post, when the Association of Country Entertainers was founded
in 1975, its mission was to "preserve the identity of country music as a separate and
distinct form of entertainment."
In other words, traditional country music leaves little room for those who aren't blue-collar
white folks.
Since neither Musgraves nor her music fall neatly into that category, country radio has
seemingly refused to claim her as one of its own.
“ I find inspiration in bringing light to the subjects that are, you know, maybe a little
bit harder to talk about.
And I kind of do it with a satirical edge sometimes.”
Despite her popularity and critical acclaim, only two of Musgraves' songs have reached
the Top 20 Airplay chart.
When Golden Hour was released in March 2018, its sound was widely noted by critics to have
strayed from the singer's previous releases.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Musgraves referred to her new sound as "galactic
country," with the publication describing it as "hippie country," claiming that Golden
Hour's disco sounds and horn sections give the album "a whimsical, dreamy vibe."
Perhaps the reason Golden Hour calls to mind hippie vibes of years past can be found in
Musgrave’s interesting creative process.
Shortly after the album's release, the country darling revealed she wrote some of her award-winning
album while on acid.
“Psychedelics, I will say, have changed my perspective in a lot of ways… and have
given me a different perspective.”
While mainstream radio may refuse to recognize the "High Horse" singer for the country queen
she is, plenty others have hopped aboard the Kacey Musgraves train.
In fact, Musgraves has found herself in the company of royalty more than once.
In December 2018, Musgraves appeared on season 4 of VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars as
a guest judge.
The star provided feedback to contestants in a singing, songwriting, and dancing challenge,
later writing on Instagram, "It was one of the most magical experiences I've ever been
part of!"
Getting to hang with queens on Drag Race was no doubt a dream come true for Musgraves,
who held a drag show as part of her release party in 2013 for her second studio album,
aptly titled Pageant Material.
Before Kacey Musgraves became a household name in recent years, the singer-songwriter
was just a girl with a big dream trying to make it in a city full of other girls with…
well, the same big dream.
Musgraves revealed in a 2013 interview with The Guardian that, while she was voted "Most
Likely To Be Famous" by her senior class in the small town of Golden, Texas, fame came
neither quickly nor easily.
After moving to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her music-making dreams, Musgraves took on
several jobs to support herself, including writing hundreds of songs for other musicians,
painting faces, and even dressing up for children's birthday parties.
Musgraves told CMT News:
"I signed up because I thought I could be Cinderella or Ariel or something like that.
But I ended up having to be Hannah Montana."
Change, though it can be painful, is an essential part of life - and for Kacey Musgraves, it
was also an essential part of making a Grammy-award winning album.
In a 2018 interview with SPIN, Musgraves detailed the year-plus she spent making Golden Hour,
saying:
"Last year was the year of change for me.
You can't imagine how many things changed for me.
Business management, booking agency, band members, tour manager… new producers, new
songwriters.
Almost every single thing changed."
“It’s a tumultuous time.”
However, the changes in Musgraves' life weren't purely professional.
The songstress also experienced a major shake up in her personal life when she split from
her boyfriend Misa Arriaga - who also happened to be her (now ex) bandmate.
Musgraves revealed to SPIN:
"I was in a weird place personally.
I was getting out of a long relationship, I didn't have a lot of self-confidence.
I didn't feel great about myself, so I needed time to figure it out again."
While a tumultuous and heartbreaking period of change in Kacey Musgraves’ life lead
her to begin the creative process for Golden Hour, an unexpected romance she found along
the way inspired many of the critically-acclaimed album's songs.
“‘Butterflies’ was the first song that I wrote after meeting my now husband.”
“I met this person who just completely changed my world.”
In an interview with Hits Daily Double, Musgraves recalled an evening in March 2016 when she
ventured out to the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee, a famous spot for aspiring singer-songwriters.
As luck would have it, her future husband, Ruston Kelly, happened to be performing, too.
Musgraves dished:
"Ruston played his first song, and I was just stunned by everything in it.
When it was over, I went up and introduced myself.
I said, 'Hey, I don't really ever do this, but here's my number; I really wanna write
with you.'"
The couple married just over a year later in October 2017 in a dreamy outdoor ceremony.
"I've never felt so tranquil and happy," Musgraves captioned a photo from their wedding day.
Considering Kacey Musgraves' determinedness to unabashedly be herself and stand up for
what she believes in, it should come as no surprise that the "Space Cowboy" songstress
is a huge Dolly Parton fan.
But, then again, who doesn't love Dolly?
In a 2019 pre-Grammys interview with Billboard, Musgraves talked about her adoration for the
undisputed queen of country music, calling her "the ultimate songwriter" and detailing
all the reasons she just can't get enough of Dolly.
Musgraves gushed:
"[Parton is] beauty, sex appeal, brains, wit, humor, beautiful songwriting, meaningful songwriting,
[makes] no apologies for who she is, [was an] LGBTQ advocate long before it was even
a thing or trendy or whatever.
She's fearless and I admire her spirit a lot and she's very kind.”
“Just seeing how she submits herself, not only to just like the public, but, you know,
to herself… like, keeping herself authentic.
I mean, it’s so inspiring.”
There's no question that Musgraves' love for Parton made her Grammy performance with the
"Jolene" singer that much sweeter.
For a girl with a song called "Space Cowboy," Musgraves has zero interest in making contact
with any kind of extraterrestrial beings.
In fact, she's downright terrified of them.
And before you try and tell her there's no need to fear what doesn't exist, you should
know that she's seen proof of aliens - and there's no changing her mind.
In a "Two Truths and a Lie" interview with People magazine, Musgraves revealed that she's
seen UFOs twice in her lifetime - once while in Mexico at a friend's wedding, and again
four days later in Nashville, Tennessee.
The country crooner told People magazine:
"I'm definitely a believer.
I don't think we are alone."
Being a young woman in country music in this day and age means that, at some point in your
career, you'll likely be compared to Taylor Swift - arguably the most successful country
crossover artist in the history of the genre.
Kacey Musgraves has managed to largely avoid those types of comparisons throughout her
career, but she does appreciate the contributions the "Tim McGraw" songstress made to the country
music scene.
Musgraves told The Guardian:
"She's definitely widened the audience.
I think a lot of kids who wouldn't be into country are probably fans of hers.
That's cool and she's been kind of an ambassador for country."
Instead of pigeonholing herself as Taylor Swift 2.0, Kacey Musgraves has made a name
for herself by staying true to her unique, edgier songwriting style - even at the expense
of missing out on more mainstream country fans.
Musgraves revealed to The Guardian:
"Certain kinds of people will always have an issue with my music.
But that's fine, it's OK.
I don't want to be the McDonald's of music.
If you were everybody's cup of tea, you'd probably be boring."
“Mainly, I just wanna say that I’m just so thankful that the music has connected in
such a way that I never expected…”
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one!