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Kacey Musgraves: Tiny Desk Concert

By Stephen Thompson
Published August 17, 2015 at 10:11 AM EDT

Given the timing of Kacey Musgraves' appearance in the NPR offices — the Supreme Court had legalized gay marriage across America mere hours earlier — it was inevitable that the singer would trot out "Follow Your Arrow," the most anthemic go-your-own-way jam on Musgraves' 2013 debut album, Same Trailer Different Park. In fact, NPR Music has already published her performance of that song, which closes this Tiny Desk Concert.

But Musgraves also kicked off her set by showcasing four songs from the new Pageant Material. That album, her second, has its own share of anthemic odes to individuality — including the title track, which Musgraves performed at the Tiny Desk. But she also took the time to showcase some of Pageant Material's subtler material: "High Time" and the gorgeous ballad "Late for the Party" both sway sweetly in the hands of the singer and her impeccably dressed band.

At the end of it all, of course, comes "Follow Your Arrow," punctuated by all the crowd participation you'd expect from a song with "Make lots of noise" in its chorus. Musgraves made a point of showcasing her gentler side in this Tiny Desk Concert, but as it so often does, rowdiness prevailed in the end.

Set List

  • "High Time"

  • "Family Is Family"

  • "Late To The Party"

  • "Pageant Material"

  • "Follow Your Arrow"

    • Credits

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Walker; Audio Engineer:Neil Tevault; Videographers: Morgan Walker, Colin Marshall, Lani Milton; Assistant Producer: Elena Saavedra Buckley; photo by Lydia Thompson/NPR

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Stephen Thompson
    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
    See stories by Stephen Thompson