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26 November 2025
Kacey Musgraves invites us into her beautifully curated musical journey through the emotional landscape of her career that feels both cinematic and intimate. A light display reminiscent of an Aurora Borealis wash over the stage as the first quiet notes of ‘Cardinal’ drifts through the theatre and we instantly feel calm and grounded.
The stage has been designed to feel like a lush, dreamy, moss-green forest, blending earthy tones with a touch of the cosmic to create an immersive and magical world that perfectly matches the reflective, nature-infused tone of her latest album ‘Deeper Well’.
It’s a bittersweet performance for Musgraves tonight because it’s the second to last show of this entire era for her. “It’s been so beautiful. These songs, this chapter, what it’s meant for me – with lots of personal growth,” she shares, and encourages everyone up on their feet to groove along with her in celebration.
“We’re gonna have a really good time. We’ve got a little mix of a bit of old and a bit of new. But I just want you to feel like you can be yourselves and really leave all the bullshit out there so we can have a great time together,” she exclaims.
Musgraves moves with calm assurance straight into ‘justified’, her voice both delicate and steel-sharp, the track’s honest emotional reckoning resonating deeply. ‘Butterflies’ lifts the crowd into soft euphoria, its shimmering sweetness enhanced by the theatre’s acoustics.
‘Love Is a Wild Thing’ unfurls with warm guitar textures that feel expansive, and the luminous ‘Golden Hour’ showcases Musgraves mastery of her bittersweet storytelling that smile even while they ache.
We relate feeling conflicting emotions as she sings ‘Happy & Sad’ with a steady sincerity that truly strikes a collective nerve. She asks the crowd to give some sexy little finger snaps along to ‘Lonely Millionaire’ as we lean into the theme of modern isolation.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Australia. I know that a lot of you here have been with me on my musical journey since the very beginning. I appreciate your patience and for following my creative journey wherever it goes,” Musgraves says earnestly.
She takes things a little further back with a song that felt pertinent for her at that time. “I had moved from my little bitty town in Austin after high school to Nashville. At the end of 2008 I ended up meeting some really amazing people that just completely changed my world and I made a lot of friends in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
“Naturally, the things that I was writing about and singing about followed. I just felt like I was kind of doing my job as a songwriter and taking these things in and made a big impression on me. I love the bones of country music because it’s a genre that’s built on real stories.”
She recalls that her song ‘Follow Your Arrow’ almost didn’t make it onto her debut album but she fought for it even though it ended up getting banned by country radio. “The love and support that it has brought to my world has meant so much to me and it’s way more priceless than any of that other stuff,” she declares.
Musgraves acknowledges the presence of the community in the room tonight and those who may not feel supported by their families and reassuring them that they have a welcoming family here in her crowd of fans with open arms.
Another little country throwback ‘It Is What It Is’ has her seated for the slow swaying tune as the disco ball spins above. Its spirit of freedom and playfulness lights the room instantly, while the cheeky charm of ‘The Trailer Song’ keeps the energy high.
The band steps back and the stage narrows to a single spotlight as Musgraves delivers a breathtaking solo rendition of ‘The Architect’, revealing the full intimacy of her voice, unadorned and piercing.
“I’ve been playing these beautiful places that have such great acoustics and so I thought it would be kind of nice to hear the open-air acoustics of this historic theatre. She takes out her inner ear plugs and plays a couple of unplugged songs including ‘Hookup Scene’ and ‘Heaven Is’. As three of her band members join her in forming a circle around the microphone it feels like secret confessions whispered through the dark. In these quieter moments, the Palais becomes impossibly still.
‘Jade Green’ shimmers with atmospheric calm before the storm hits with the familiar soft strum of ‘Slow Burn’ that ripples through the theatre. ‘Space Cowboy’ follows with a slow heartbreak that leaves the room hanging on every syllable as the stage engulfs in bubbles to finish. The mood lifts again with a warmly nostalgic collaboration with Brooks & Dunn ‘Neon Moon’ that blooms into a moment of communal sway and glow.
Inflatable plastic balls are thrown out across the audience as the disco-tinged ‘High Horse’ sees the theatre breakout into a grooving dancefloor party. ‘Rainbow’ builds the perfect rise and release with emotional closure bathed in multicoloured light. Musgraves closes the show with the title track of her most recent album ‘Deeper Well’ serving as a reflective anthem with its themes of shedding, survival, and renewal echoing beautifully long after the curtains close.
Words by Michael Prebeg
