The Boston leg of Kacey Musgraves' "star-crossed: unveiled" tour went off without a hitch as soon as Musgraves took center-stage at TD Garden on Jan. 27.With Muna and King Princess as opening acts, the bar was set high for Musgraves. Muna's opening set included well-known hits such as "Stayaway" (2019) and "Silk Chiffon" (2021). Katie Gavin, the lead singer of the act, performed phenomenally, often vocally outdoing the studio version of tracks. Soon to follow was King Princess. Equally captivating, King Princess also performed their greatest hits including "Talia" (2018) and "1950" (2018) as well as unreleased tracks from their upcoming album, such as "For My Friends" and "Let Us Die."
Once King Princess headed offstage, the curtains withdrew, and Musgraves emerged with a blazing heart in the background. She opened with "Star-Crossed" (2021), the title track of her latest album. Following were "Good Wife" (2021), "Cherry Blossom" (2021) and "Simple Times" (2021).During her performance of "Cherry Blossom," large cherry blossom tree illustrations were painted across the monitors. Fans were decked out in their own interpretations of Musgraves' costume in the "Good Wife" music video.
Though Musgraves' previous album "Golden Hour" (2018) centered on her marriage with her ex-husband Ruston Kelly, she brought out her older discography for her fans. Then came a medley of tracks such as "Lonely Weekend" (2018), "Golden Hour" (2018) and "High Horse" (2018). It was evident that there were levels of hurt to Musgraves during these performances. Coming off a successful album run that garnered Musgraves the coveted Album of the Year award at the 2019 Grammys for "Golden Hour,"an album entirely devoted to her marriage which subsequently ended, it is hard to rise from the ashes. However, with "Star-Crossed" (2021), Musgraves was able to resurrect her broken heart and ascend to levels higher than she intended. Though her fans developed their own connections to her past songs of love, it was hard not to notice the new persona Musgraves put on when performing these tracks. As she closed out "Golden Hour," she edited the typical lyric of "you're my golden hour" to "you're my golden shower."
She resumed the "star-crossed" set and serenaded the Boston audience through "justified" (2021) and "camera roll" (2021). With her stripped-down version of "camera roll," the pain from her divorce came through. She crooned, "chronological order and nothing but torture." The only track nominated for a Grammy at the upcoming award ceremony, Musgraves knows how to cater a track to pull at the heartstrings of her listeners.
As her set came to a close, the audience got "Butterflies" (2018), "Space Cowboy" (2018) and "gracias a la vida" (2021). At the end of "gracias a la vida," Musgraves dropped to the ground behind the curtains — as if stricken — as the lights went dark. Eager fans knew this could not be the end of her set and waited impatiently for the return of Musgraves. When the lights flared again, Musgraves proclaimed, "Back from the dead, y'all." She closed out the end of the concert with "Rainbow" (2019). The emotions ran high in the audience as projections of all colors were displayed all across TD Garden. A track from "Golden Hour," "Rainbow," transcended the hurt and pain Musgraves endured during the loss of her marriage, and the healing is evident. "It'll all be alright," Musgraves soothes as the track finishes. There was an air of peace and calm present as the audience worked with Musgraves to heal throughout her set.
With an impeccable lineup and showstopping visuals, Musgraves crafted a perfectly executed concert akin to that of a healing therapy session.
