Country superstar ends folk fest with happy vibes

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This article was published 15/07/2019 (2612 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time Texan country superstar Kacey Musgraves came to town it was 2014, when she rolled through Bell MTS Place twice in the span of just a few months as an opening act first for Lady Antebellum and then for Katy Perry.

At the Perry show, Free Press reviewer Jen Zoratti wrote, “The next time I write about this woman, I hope it’s as a headliner. She’s ready for prime time.”

Well, prime time has arrived: as Zoratti predicted, Musgraves’ return to Manitoba was, indeed, as a headlining artist, as the closing act on the mainstage of the Winnipeg Folk Festival Sunday night.

It was golden hour when Musgraves, 30, took the stage, a beautiful coincidence considering that’s the exact title of her latest record, which won her four Grammy Awards earlier this year.

Musgraves kicked things off with the opening track from Golden Hour, Slow Burn; she delicately sang along to her own plucks on an acoustic guitar before her band fully joined in, all of whom rocked a uniform of brown jumpsuits.

Looking like a true country queen in a long, flowy red dress with fringed sleeves, Musgraves addressed the crowd after her second track, Wonder Woman, noting the last time she was here it was “negative 60 (degrees)” so the summer heat felt a bit better, and she instructed the half-seated, half-dancing crowd to “just do what you do here in Canada when you’re having a great time outdoors.”

She then launched into Butterflies, a track she wrote after she first met her now-husband and one that had the crowd powerfully singing along, a trend which continued for most of the night, including during the more pop-influenced Lonely Weekend and the emotional Merry Go ’Round.

Musgraves has the kind of voice that sneaks up on you; it’s super feminine and sweet, but has an incredible clarity and power behind it that allows it to fill whatever space it’s given, including the open-air environment of folk fest. Not to mention her vocal performance throughout the night was flawless.

Musgraves is a wonderful performer; she has turned her small-town beginnings into a very relatable career plot point, but not in a way that feels icky or disingenuous; she is the epitome of the girl next door — approachable, funny and charming.

As the sun set over Birds Hill Provincial Park, finally offering a tiny reprieve from the scalding daytime temperature, Musgraves played the title track from 2018’s Golden Hour, a stunning song with just the right kind of sleepy groove for the festival’s final night.

“We’re never going to be everything society wants us to be… so, f*** it, be whatever you want to be,” Musgraves sermoned before playing feel-good anthem Arrow.

Musgraves wrapped up her nearly 90-minute set with ballad Rainbow, Flaming Lips cover Do You Realize and disco-influenced fan favourite High Horse, which had the crowd on their feet, hands in the air, soaking in every last second of the folk-fest happy vibes Musgraves was blasting out.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel