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, all wearing black, and many wearing cowboy hats, and then the woman we were all waiting for, Ms Musgraves herself, emerged looking absolutely stunning, also wearing a cowboy hat, 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. 

More soon..