Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves grew up in Golden, a small town in northeast Texas, and started writing songs at age eight, later learning guitar at twelve. She won yodeling championships and sang the national anthem at the 2002 Winter Olympics before working the Texas songwriting circuit and appearing on the televised talent show Nashville Star in 2007, where she finished seventh, ahead of signing to Mercury Nashville in 2012.

Her 2013 major-label debut, Same Trailer Different Park, introduced a writing style built on close observation and a conversational, faintly deadpan delivery. Songs like "Merry Go 'Round" and "Follow Your Arrow" drew attention for their frankness about small-town life, and the record won the Grammy for Best Country Album.

Pageant Material (2015) stayed close to traditional country instrumentation and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, led by the singles "Biscuits" and "Dime Store Cowgirl". A holiday record, A Very Kacey Christmas, followed in 2016.

Golden Hour (2018) added disco pulses, vocoder and soft-focus production and swept all four of its Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, with its singles "Space Cowboy" and "Butterflies" each winning Grammys of their own. Star-Crossed (2021) and Deeper Well (2024) followed, the latter reaching number two on the Billboard 200 behind the Grammy-winning single "The Architect".

Musgraves also appeared on Zach Bryan's 2023 number-one single "I Remember Everything", which won a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, bringing her total to eight Grammy wins. Live, she tends to favour pedal steel and clean electric guitar over volume, letting the lyrics carry the weight.