Kacey Musgraves is a real one, y’all. Her “Middle of Nowhere” tour stop on Monday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden wasn’t just a testament to her star power, it was a reminder that Musgraves is a particularly unique star — one who rejects the carefully composed image that her genre demands and instead does whatever the hell she wants. “This is what happens when nobody tells me no!,” Musgraves said as she rode testicle-shaped disco balls during a rendition of “Rhinestoned.” Why rein her in when she’s having this much fun?
Even with the ballsy flyovers, the merry-go-round stage, and a select few cover songs, Kacey Musgraves’ new tour is more down-to-earth than the social media clips would have you believe. It is grounded in a literal sense — Musgraves laid down hay on the floor for the walk from her motel-esque entrance stage to the main one, which was fashioned like a rodeo ring straight from her native Texas. But more symbolically, in a time where country music is seeing an unprecedented level of national attention while bringing up very real dilemmas about authenticity in the genre and its political implications, Musgraves is a breath of fresh air. She knows she doesn’t have to pretend or over-perform. She’ll always be that same charming, clever, “I didn’t say fuckin’ ‘yee'” country queen.
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The new set is primarily a showcase for her latest record, Middle of Nowhere, an album we hailed earlier this year as one of the best of 2026 so far. It’s Musgraves’ casual-but-novel songwriting that keeps Middle of Nowhere in rotation, retaining the majestic, cosmic country sonics of Golden Hour and Deeper Well while also offering humor, counterintuitive storytelling, and Musgraves’ singular point of view. The songs on Middle of Nowhere feature a touch more relatability than, say, Deeper Well or its predecessor star-crossed — an aspect that Musgraves acknowledged herself on Monday night, thanking the crowd for singing the new songs straight back to her.
The new stuff was simply radiant. The low harmonies on opening cut “Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy” are swoon-worthy, and the halting, half-time shift in “Mexico Honey” had the whole crowd on command. The humor in “Back on the Wagon” and “Dry Spell” was even more prominent than on the record, with Musgraves offering a cheeky ad-lib here and there (“true story!,” she crammed in during the first verse of “Back on the Wagon”). It’s challenging not to get sucked into the throbbing groove of “I Believe in Ghosts,” a Middle of Nowhere highlight that reaches full sing-a-long potential in a live setting.
Still, as great as the new tracks were, I was curious as to why not a single song from Deeper Well made it into the setlist. No love for standouts “Cardinal” or “Jade Green”? Fall is rolling in — the perfect time for a sentimental rendition of “Moving Out,” no? Look, I understand that the more ‘woo-woo’ elements of Deeper Well weren’t as easy for fans to connect to, and Musgraves devoted the last tour to playing a handful of songs from the record. But given that the “Middle of Nowhere” run functions as a window into Musgraves’ inner life, a few more back catalog songs would have been welcome.
The older tracks she did play were fascinating glimpses into her arc as a singer-songwriter. There’s a thread that runs between “Merry Go ‘Round” and the jaded wit in Middle of Nowhere, where Musgraves’ resistance to conventional wisdom is rendered with subtle detail and a wistful glow. Even more lovely, of course, were the tracks revived from Golden Hour, an album that holds up better and better. The quiet beneath “Slow Burn” was almost religious, the touching tribute of “Rainbow” — which Musgraves dedicated to Dolly Parton — had the audience enraptured.
Musgraves has been mourning the loss of Parton over the last week, covering “Here You Come Again” at her previous shows and expressing her admiration over on Twitter. She took her tribute a step further on Monday night with a massive sing-a-long rendition of “9 to 5,” a song she’d covered before but not since Dolly died. It was a welcome dedication, especially since Musgraves, like Parton, leads with a pure heart and plenty of humor.
“I think why it feels so dark is just… it’s already hard to navigate these times right now and when we lose a matriarch like that… it’s the closest thing we’ve ever had to royalty,” a visibly emotional Musgraves said about Parton before playing “Rainbow.” “But damn. What a supernova of a person. I can take a little bit of comfort in knowing that her soul and her bones are literally part of this galaxy, this universe, the fabric of space and time. She already was, but… I definitely would not be able to stand up here and do what I do if it hadn’t been for Dolly Parton.”
That reverence for Dolly Parton wasn’t just a poignant tribute; it felt like a torch passing in real time. Musgraves may ride disco balls, lay down rodeo hay, and require her band to do a few cute little dance moves, but at her core, she carries the exact same brave, unvarnished spirit that made her idol immortal. Country music might be undergoing an identity crisis, but as long as Kacey Musgraves is steering her own weird, wonderful ship, the genre’s future is in trusted hands.
Kacey Musgraves @ Madison Square Garden – August 31st, 2026 Setlist:
Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy
Dry Spell
Justified
High Horse
Merry Go ‘Round
Butterflies
Abilene
Back on the Wagon
I Believe in Ghosts
Uncertain, TX
Horses and Divorces
(Hey Baby) ¿Qué pasó? (Texas Tornados cover)
Golden Hour
Loneliest Girl
Rhinestoned
Mexico Honey
Middle of Nowhere
Slow Burn
Space Cowboy
Rainbow (dedicated to Dolly Parton)
9 to 5 (Dolly Parton cover)
Follow Your Arrow
All My Ex’s Live in Texas (George Strait cover)
