Review
Review
Kacey Musgraves rises to the occasion at Hampton Court Palace
The cosmic-country popstar had a lot of fun in the palatial surroundings of her Hampton Court performance.
At first glance, the Tudor and baroque walls that line Hampton Court Palace in English history may seem lightyears away from the contemporary country-pop of Kacey Musgraves, born in small-town Texas.
But on Wednesday evening Musgraves became the queen of the palace, fittingly bejewelled in rhinestone body suit that glistened away all night as she ruled the stage with flawless vocals and a good deal of humour.
“I gotta say this is the fanciest shit I’ve ever seen”, she admits, breaking the grace of opener ‘star-crossed’ and keen to make a connection with the crowd early on. It’s a pleasingly odd mix of an audience, with teenagers, families, indie heads and besuited retirees all joining in on the fun and sharing common ground with the help of pink cowboy hats.
The variety in the audience reflects the broad spectrum of sounds Musgraves has pulled in to her brand of country in recent years, from the disco-pop of ‘High Horse’ from 2018’s Golden Hour to the jazzy flute solos of ‘there is a light’ from last year’s star-crossed, the latter of which sounding particularly impressive with the live band.
The set is made up mostly of these two records. “This song is dedicated to Henry VIII”, she says as she introduces ‘breadwinner’, the sassy R&B bop about a greedy man. “See, he’s never gonna know what to do/ With a woman like Anne Boleyn”. Her affection for England is explicit as she describes her first show in London ten years ago, before reminding us of her beginnings in Golden, Texas with ‘Merry Go ‘Round’ from 2013’s Same Trailer, Different Park.
The night also includes a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s classic ‘Dreams’, which has become a festival favourite of hers, and in another nod to the royal surroundings, an arm-swaying rendition of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ from Baz Luhrman’s Elvis.
But the night is not The King’s but this queen’s, and from the arms reaching out towards her as the evening draws to a close, lit up magnificently with colour-changing wristbands, no one would dare tell you otherwise.
Catch Crowded House take to Hampton Court Palace on Saturday 25 September. Tickets are available here.
