Kacey Musgraces at Circuit

Kacey Musgraves

Circuit, 22 April 2025 

I never thought I would get the chance to see the magnificent Kacey Musgraves in a small venue, but that dream came true last night when the country queen gave a special performance for Banquet Records at the nearby Circuit Kingston to promote her upcoming new record, Middle Of Nowhere. What an absolute treat to see the Space Cowgirl play some brand new tunes and also some old favourites in such an intimate place and it was everything I had ever hoped it would be. 

I had never been to Circuit before so I was a bit nervous going to Kingston, which is only accessible, from my side of London anyway, by getting a train from Waterloo, but fortunately it turned out to be simple enough and the venue was actually only a couple of minutes from the train station. I had missed out on tickets for the previously announced evening show at the venue but luckily for me they then announced a second earlier show. Perfect for those of us worrying about getting home! I pounced on those tickets and turned up early, well I thought I was early but there was already quite a crowd queuing when I arrived. Putting me even more to shame, some of those queuing were actually there for the second show!

Even though I was there early, it was a sunny day and it fun to see familiar faces and to chat with fellow fans, so the time actually whizzed up, even though in the end they were about half an hour late letting us in. I did worry if this might affect how long we might get, as there were people waiting for that second show, but I'm happy to say, both crowds got the same length of show and the exact same setlist. 

My wait paid off as I got a nice spot at the barrier and I was amazed to see just how intimate the venue was, with a small dance floor and a compact balcony that went all the way round. Although the stage was a fair size for a venue this size, you could see the instruments were still quite squeezed on, with a big drumkit at the back, next to a sizable keyboard set-up, a big double bass on the other size, two guitar players (and a banjo for good measure) and finally, best of all, a pedal steel. And all this isn't even including Musgraves herself, who of course took centre stage and often played acoustic guitar herself.

The whole crowd was noticeably excited, partly due to the long wait finally paying off but also I think everyone was completely psyched to see Musgraves and her full band in a place like this: her last gigs in London were two sold out nights at the Roundhouse and last weekend she was playing Coachella in the States.

The band all took their places, to lonesome cowboy music, all wearing black, and many wearing cowboy hats. It was then the woman we were all waiting for, Ms Musgraves herself, emerged looking absolutely stunning, also wearing a cowboy hat, as well as a black halter top, Western belt, black embroidered trousers and the highest of high heels. While we were waiting in the queue a fancy blacked out car arrived at the venue and we all speculated it might be her but it turned out it was in fact her hair and makeup person. Seeing Musgraves looking like a movie star, her hair and makeup absolute perfection (particularly the stunning red lips), I had to admit that hair and makeup person was worth every penny: Musgraves looked gorgeous and every bit the star.

They immediately launched into the new single, the title track of the new album Middle Of Nowhere and this song definitely seems to show that the new record will be a return to pure country, and it sounded fantastic. 

The next song also had that lonesome twang of the peddle steel and even the title has a cowboy lilt: Back On The Wagon. This sad love song, where Musgraves sings an unreliable man making promises he can't keep. It's the kind of old storytelling country song, the kind that Tammy Wynette might have sung with a sob in her voice (although Ms Wynette wouldn't have sung "he says he'll fuck it up"). 

After previewing these two new tracks she returned to some older material, starting with Justified. I must admit the poppy Star-Crossed is probably my least favourite of her albums but Justified is one of the best songs on the album and tonight, playing it with her excellent country band, it does indeed some great. 

Keeping with the hits, she puts down her acoustic guitar and grabs her microphone for the upbeat High Horse, the disco-fuelled tune getting everyone dancing and singing along, Musgraves holding out her mike at the end to capture all the singing from the audience.  She looks so happy, obviously feeling the excitement and full pure from the audience towards her.

She tells us she is going to be playing some more new tunes and the next one she had never actually played live before: how exciting! It turns out to be a track called Mexico Honey, a lovely feel good shuffle about a holiday romance, with Musgraves swinging her hips and even shaking her "ass" (as the lyrics say!), as she sang "we're going to ride this wave til it breaks."

Uncertain, Tx, meanwhile, she tells us was inspired by hearing that there was actually a town with that name in her home state and imagining what it could be like. The song itself had a Tex-Mex feel and in the middle there's even an accordion musical break, where Kacey smoothy glides over to the accordion player and has a little dance by his side.

I absolutely loved hearing the new tunes but I can't deny it was thrilling to hear the old favourites too. Going all the way back to Same Trailer Different Park, taking up her guitar again to sing It Is What It Is before giving the wonderful Golden Hour some more  love by playing the heart-warming title tack and the always delightful Butterflies, from it (complete with some lovely banjo-playing). As she sang "you give me butterflies" the whole audience echoed the feeling.

It was round this time I think that Musgraves spotted a girl in the crowd waving two signs. The first just had her name spelled incorrectly (Kasey), something, she tells us, drives her crazy! The sign was obviously just to make her laugh and she does indeed seem to get a kick out of it. She then takes the second sign from her, one that says "Announce The Tour!!", to which she made a confused face and joked "what's a tour?" 

She again wandered the stage to sing her rather magical cover of the old Brooks & Dunn cover Neon Moon, at the end getting to her knees at the front of the stage and raising her arm to the heavens as she emotionally sang the plaintive lyrics, "this pain inside of me, ain't gonna never end, oh but I'll be alright, as long as there's light, from a neon moon." Better than the original, for me anyway.

I had hoped she would play it but thought it was a long shot, but my heart leaped with joy when she strapped back on her guitar and that familiar rousing mixture of guitar and banjo in the intro for Slow Burn began. I always feel like this song is what Sufjan Stevens would write if he converted to country music, but at the same time, it's all Kacey and it's a masterpiece. It's my favourite song by Musgraves and it was an absolute joy to hear. Near the end, Kacey came to the edge of the stage and encouraged us all to sing along with the wordless chant and to wave our arms in the air. I think I was just too stunned to participate, as it just sounded so glorious. It was my highlight of the evening and I am just so happy I got to hear it tonight.

The night ended with the cool Western shuffle of her fantastic single, Dry Spell. Despite it's yearning yet playful lyrics, Musgraves seemed to be having a ball singing this one and even at one point seemed to do the robot dance. This song is without a doubt a future classic and it was a thrill to hear it live. Even though it's only been out a couple of months, the whole crowd already knew the lyrics and it was a triumphant and perfect way to end the show. 

Musgraves then waved and ended the show as she started, leaving the stage as the music was still playing. The whole set was 12 songs long, about 45 minutes in all with no encore (as the second show was due to start in an hour) but it was absolutely perfect. She surprisingly didn't play any songs from her last record, the wonderful Deeper Well, but still I wouldn't change a thing. This was an absolute delight of a show. The crowd was full of love and Musgraves was on fire and so sweet and charming throughout. I must also say, her band was on fire too, and she obviously had so much chemistry with them all and it really showed.

I'm so happy I got to witness Musgraves doing what she does best up close and it's only made me a bigger fan. What a dream show!