Up until a few weeks ago, I would not consider myself a fan of country music. Aside from a very few songs, I stayed away from that genre. That is until I started listening to Kacey Musgraves. In case you haven’t heard of her, she recently won Album of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards for her most recent release, Golden Hour. However, she has been present in the industry for the past few years, winning Best Country Album and Best Country Song at the 2014 Grammy Awards. She also opened for Harry Styles on the 2018 North American leg of his world tour.
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Aside from her numerous award wins, her lyrics and style resonate with a wide audience. In fact, I don’t think Golden Hour could be labeled as solely country. I believe it has a dreamy vibe to it, which isn’t what I would tend to associate with country music. There are hints of pop, rock, even 70s disco-laced in with the country tradition of storytelling. In fact, the Yeehaw Queen herself described the album as “space country” or “galactic country” in an article with Rolling Stone magazine.
To me, she is a bold and inspirational leader in the music industry. Some of her lyrics deal with taboo subjects for the genre and she isn’t afraid to bring these topics to the forefront. In a letter to the LGBTQ community for Billboard, she wrote that “country music has always been a genre built on songs and stories celebrating real life so I took it upon myself to include my own awakening into my music and knew that I would be taking some heat for it.” She is truly a girl boss that won’t take any BS from anyone. From a fan’s perspective, she has a good sense of self and has created her own sphere in the music community. She’s paving the way for other female artists, especially those in the country music scene, to write about relevant issues and topics that hit close to home. I look forward to listening to more of her music and seeing her revolutionize the industry.