Happy Birthday, Kacey Musgraves! Celebrate the Golden Hour Singer With This 2015 Session
Country music's fairy godmother was born today and I have a lot of feelings.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Bonnaroo Arts And Music Festival Music Features Kacey Musgraves
On this day in 1988, a star was born.
We’re not talking about Ally—Lady Gaga beat the star in question by about two years and a few months. No, this star hasn’t been in a movie alongside Bradley Cooper. This star had a much slower rise, and she has absolutely no danger of burning out any time soon.
Today (Aug. 21) is Kacey Musgraves’ birthday, and I have a lot of feelings. Last year, Musgraves released her third album, the transcendent Golden Hour, and it has taken less than 18 months for it to obtain classic status. Critics praised the country singer/songwriter for crushing genre norms and exploring new lyrical territory; fans fell head over heels for Musgraves’ sunset romance. She acquired tons of new fans, both within country circles and beyond, too, not to mention a Grammy for Album of the Year. Six months later, we’re still jamming to Golden Hour, the perfect album for our Yeehaw moment and a serious contender for best-of-the-decade titles.
But Golden Hour wasn’t even Musgraves’ first masterpiece. That title goes to her first album, 2013’s Same Trailer Different Park, which contained the controversial (at least by country radio’s standards) anthem, “Follow Your Arrow.” Two years later Musgraves made magic again on her sophomore effort, 2015’s Pageant Material. Both albums are stunning displays of a young singer/songwriter finding her singular voice. For longtime Kacey fans, Golden Hour was just the icing on an already-tasty cake.
Listen to Kacey Musgraves’ 2015 Daytrotter session below, which includes three songs from Pageant Material: the title track, marijuana hymn “High Time” and delightfully ambling album kicker “Fine.”
Read: The 10 Best Country Albums of 2018