The country-pop star delights in being fully herself and bringing people together.

As Kacey Musgraves sings in her country-pop single “justified,” “healing doesn’t happen in a straight line.”

The singer-songwriter previously struggled with mental health challenges stemming from her divorce and loneliness after the pandemic. At 38, she’s finding radical self-love and acceptance.

The eight-time Grammy Award winner released her latest album, “Middle of Nowhere,” in May. On the record, Musgraves embraces her small-town roots, playfully comments on her lackluster dating life and finds solace in her own company.

“Making this record felt like home in a lot of ways,” Musgraves told the Denver crowd.

She returned to her original country sound, delighting in Tex-Mex flavors, plenty of steel guitar and silly lyricism mocking her own unfortunate past decision-making.

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She has never been afraid to speak her mind and stand up for her beliefs. Musgraves recently invited three mariachi brothers to open for her sold-out shows in New Braunfels, Texas, after the family was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Musgraves also welcomed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico to a show in Dallas on Oct. 10. After seeing a post on X about Talarico’s appearance, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted, “I’ll take Ella Langley over Kacey Musgraves any day. And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico.” Musgraves fired back with possibly the best response: “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight, but if you did you would have shot it.”

The country-pop artist brought her Middle of Nowhere Tour to Ball Arena in Denver on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Thousands of fans showed up in cowhide skirts, bedazzled jeans and cowboy hats.

Kacey Musgraves, performing in-the-round at Denver’s Ball Arena Oct. 13. | Photo: Shannon Shumaker

Into the middle of nowhere, Texas

Walking into the massive arena, audience members were greeted by a circular stage in the center, set up like a bullfighting ring with bright lights. A moving walkway surrounded a large star platform. On a screen above the stage, a bull slowly walked across a path with a branded “KM” on its side.

Where the stage would normally be, a dilapidated building sat with Colorado and American flags hung on the wall and a large “Middle of Nowhere” sign. A backdrop of a field with a blue sky and power lines stood behind the structure.

“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC rang out across the arena as a red timer counted down from five minutes. Fog, spotlights and bursting flames emerged on the stage as sparks flew from above.

Singing “Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy,” Musgraves hung over the railing on the second story of the “Middle of Nowhere” building. She looked luminous while backlit in denim chaps with black sparkly fringe, a brown suede cowboy hat and a large turquoise necklace with horseshoe detailing.

Visuals of laundry spinning projected onto the stage as Musgraves sang her hilarious tale of a lengthy sexless period, “Dry Spell.” As lights sparkled across the audience, she walked to the points of the star to interact with fans.

“Thank you so much for showing up for us all the way out here in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “They made a note that said that Denver’s best gays were gonna be here tonight. It seems like it. They also said the best straights. We’re coming together — we really are.”

Musgraves explained that she last performed in Denver in 2024 and a lot had changed since then. “Look at us. We’re healed now.”

“It’s a weeknight, so we’re going to have something to talk about at the water cooler,” she joked. She told the audience she wanted them to feel safe to be themselves in this space.

Cycles, forgiveness and romance

She moved into the lighter, more emotional track “Merry Go ’Round.” She spun around the stage on the rotating platform as she sang about the never-ending cycle of living in a small town.

“Denver, are you off the wagon tonight?” she asked, referencing her song “Back on the Wagon.” “This song is a true story.”

American flag banners projected across the edges of the star platform as Drew Taubenfeld played bluesy steel guitar. Musgraves sat in the delusion of hoping an alcoholic man would finally change.

Musgraves looked genuinely happy and healed on this tour. She line-danced on “Uncertain, TX” and walked around the sides of the stage high-fiving fans on a cover of the Texas Tornados’ “(Hey Baby) ¿Qué pasó?”

“Let’s slow it down a little bit. Meemaw needs some oxygen,” she joked. As twinkling keys echoed across the arena, she sang the sweet, romantic track “Golden Hour.” Sparks cascaded down from the ceiling like golden rain.

She embraced vulnerability on “Loneliest Girl,” explaining that the song is about learning how to be herself and enjoy spending time alone. That spell of sincerity was quickly broken by the most ridiculous part of the set.

She’s got balls

“I really wanted to feel classy and refined — something unique, something people have never seen before,” Musgraves said before giant disco balls descended from the ceiling.

By disco balls, I mean enlarged genitalia covered in glimmering mirror disks. She sat on a small seat on the balls and buckled herself in. Light refracted off the balls across the crowd as they carried Musgraves and spun around in the air. She looked truly joyful to be performing “Rhinestoned” in such an unserious way.

If you haven’t seen her music video for “Mexico Honey,” it’s steamy, with imagery of Musgraves butt naked, turning to the camera with her hand over her breast and making out in the shower with a hot man. Scenes from the video played as she was quite literally “shaking [her] ass” like the song says.

Before performing her title track, “Middle of Nowhere,” Musgraves took a moment to tell people who think differently than she does that she was happy they were there. “My goal is to bring people together,” she said, adding that the diverse crowd she saw before her was what she wanted her “middle of nowhere” to be.

Musgraves brought out her opener, Carter Faith, for “Fine” off her 2015 album “Pageant Material.” They traded warm, stunning harmonies before embracing.

Galactic visuals filled the screens and confetti fell as Musgraves performed “Space Cowboy” before rainbow lights marked the start of her queer-friendly anthem “Follow Your Arrow.”

A Texas flag unfurled from above the stage as Musgraves ended the night with a cover of George Strait’s “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.” Sparks popped as Musgraves raised a glass of whiskey.

Having seen Musgraves’ Deeper Well Tour in 2024, I found her much more settled in herself and her optimistic outlook on life now. It’s always comforting to watch people you admire find peace and happiness with themselves, and Musgraves has done just that.