Star-Crossed: An Era

I remember my initial knee-jerk reaction when Kacey Musgraves cleared out her Instagram last year and began posting cryptic words set against white cloud back drops. “Let me set the scene.” “Moved out of the home we made, and gave you back your name.” “What have we done?”

It was a new chapter for our glamorous country gal from Texas who won the album of the year Grammy for her last record “Golden Hour,” which focused squarely on her marriage. But, as Kacey recounts, “and then the darkness came.”

It was immediately clear that this chapter was starkly different, and would focus on the disintegration of her marriage. She teased a broken heart, which would serve as the imagery for this new project. Enter Star-Crossed.

Kacey is a showman, and would not simply present an album alone. This was a new era that would come with multiple activations and a theatrical film staring social media and TV stars aplenty. I positioned myself to experience as much of it as possible, and I savored every part.

You have to be fast to catch the opportunities that Kacey throws out. She’s a tricky gal. One early afternoon When I was about to attend a social event, I got a text notification that there would be a one-time screening of the film accompanying the album that would later debut on Peacock Plus. I stepped out and hammered away at my phone to nab one ticket for the single showing at one theater in the entire LA area. This was a sought-after moment, and would serve as the first time many of us would return to a movie theater since the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020.

After the screening, Kacey announced a merchandise pop-up shop at the United Methodist Church of Hollywood, which was the filming location for the “There is a Light” sequence in the film. I showed up bright and early to grab a couple of T-shirts for myself and my sister and chatted with my fellow attendees about how excited they were for the upcoming concert, for which my friends and I had general admission floor seats for.

When Star-Crossed debuted, I rushed to thumb through it and get an initial feeling for the album, which I assumed would change in time. “Easier Said” caught my ear, and I picked it out as my favorite. It still is to this day.

The closer we got to the concert, the greater the butterflies in my stomach grew. I had a close friend from Oregon coming to town, my recently relocated former roommate, my sister from out of town and a family friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while all gathering for the sold out show at the Staples (Crypto.com?) arena in downtown LA. It would serve as the last of a 15-date tour, and the end of an era that lasted only a year. Kacey had since moved on and met a new love interest, but she still presented us with a hell of a show and an honorable nod to those of us with healing hearts.

The lineup was impeccable; MUNA and King Princess opened the show, both of whom I’ve seen at their own gigs because I’m a big fan. I couldn’t have wished for a better set of openers. MUNA crushed it, beginning with “Number One Fan” and ending with their Phoebe Bridgers collab ”Silk Chiffon.”

King Princess gave star presence, fully decked out in a Vivienne Westwood corset and trouser look, wearing out the stage and her guitar. My buddy caught her guitar pick and gave it to me, knowing I’ve followed her career since she had just a few tracks on SoundCloud.

Then, Kacey showed up, opening with the title track, starting the chorus while a giant black heart outline ignited behind her.

She moved through her set, hitting nearly every track on Star-Crossed, and touching upon the bigger hits on “Golden Hour” and revisiting “Merry Go Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” from her debut album. While the album conveys drama and treachery, Kacey knows her tribe and wanted to give us a good old hee-haw time in full glam. She took shots with her band and gave a fan the chance to select a song for her to cover. The girl standing right next to me was celebrating her 21st birthday, and told Kacey to do “9 to 5,” which the audience lost their minds over.

At the end of the show, she passed back and forth and smiled as us in the front, stopping to laugh at the stupid t-shirt that I assembled with red letter iron-on patches reading “STAR CRUST” with a pizza slice beneath. She threw out a guitar pick that I snatched and gave to my sister, who was seated behind the GA section.

I’m told I was shown on the jumbo-tron that night, but I’d never know it. I was captivated, enamored and giddy.

Star-Crossed was presented first as a single, then an album, a film and eventually a tour. As far as eras go, it was a relatively quick one, but was executed masterfully. I’m so happy to have experienced it, and I look back fondly on every part.