On Wednesday, September 11, Kacey Musgraves performed at The Met Philadelphia as part of her “Oh, What A World” tour, which began in January of this year. Her album “Golden Hour,” whose title track was the highlight of her set, received this year’s Grammy for Album of the Year.
Hundreds of anxious fans crammed into the Met’s sold out pit section wearing multi-colored cowboy hats. The eclectic attire of the crowd was prominent with the combination of bright colors and glitter.
Before Kacey Musgraves took the stage, Natalie Mering, known professionally as Weyes Blood, opened for the first time on the tour. Blood, who was raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, performed with a backing band. Her set of psychedelic folk and experimental rock contrasted Musgraves’ pop-country blend. Yet, the set was visually pleasing as Mering used multiple lighting techniques to accompany her tunes.
After an extended break between the two performances, Musgraves and her band took the stage. She kicked off her set with eccentric lighting and a few popular songs off her hit album “Golden Hour,” including “Slow Burn” and “Butterflies.” Dressed in a leopard print dress, Musgraves held a very comfortable stage presence throughout the entire performance. She interacted with the audience during her songs and mixed in throwback tunes from her previous two studio albums for the long-time fans. Her backing band, who she introduced halfway through the show, had a seamless connection between the instrumentals and Musgraves herself.
“I loved the vibe the whole night,” Hannah Tubman ’20 said. “She had such a great relationship with her band and the visuals blended perfectly with her music.”
Behind the band, exciting graphics and images pertaining to specific songs were projected onto the sprawling backdrop on stage. The use of lights and other visual elements paired extremely well with the music and did not take away from the environment of the concert, which is a common hole performers slip into nowadays.
Musgraves ended on a high note with her hit song “High Horse,” a disco-infused country tune that rocked The Met to its core. Despite admitting she had been getting over a hangover earlier in the day, Musgraves put on a special show for everyone in attendance.
After adding additional shows to her original tour in New York and Dallas, she will wrap up in Nashville in late October. It’s clear that Musgraves’ post-Grammy wave of momentum is only getting bigger.
