Meet America’s country music rebel
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She’s Country … Rising American musician Kacey Musgraves tells it like it is. Picture: Bob Barker.
Source: News Limited
RISING American superstar Kacey Musgraves is the most controversial traditional country music artist to emerge from Nashville in decades.
Katy Perry helped put her on the map when she tweeted her support of her breakthrough single Merry Go Round which illuminated real life in a small town with lyrics about drug use and unplanned pregnancies.
Musgraves beat out Taylor Swift to win the Grammy for Best Country Song last year and her debut record Same Trailer Different park won Best Country Album.
Country crossover … Katy Perry helped champion Musgraves when she tweeted her support for Merry Go Round and then took her on Prismatic tour of America. Picture: Rick Diamond / Getty Images.
Source: Getty Images
Just like Swift, she has kicked off her campaign to win Australian fans with a scene-stealing spot on last weekend’s CMC Rocks festival, held in Queensland on the weekend and small showcases for early adopters.
Her latest single Biscuits, released as she plays her first shows in Australia, continues her vein of tellin’-it-like-it-is country.
“Just hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy”
Musgraves managed to thwart attempts by labels to water down her honest songs to not offend the traditional conservative country music heartland in America.
Her instincts proved to be spot-on with Merry Go Round selling more than one million copies but resists the “rebel” tag she is copping in the US.
Honest lyrics … Musgraves has a struck a chord with her honest tales of small town life. Picture: Jamie Hanson
Source: News Corp Australia
“I have never pushed any button just to push buttons, I’m just doing my job as a songwriter and I didn’t get into this to be famous,” she said ahead of her Sydney concert.
“Labels are always scared of ruffling feathers
“Putting out Merry Go Round and saying what I wanted to say has allowed me so much freedom.”
Musgraves also stands out in the traditional country crowd for her fringed miniskirts and boots with flashing lights.
“I love anything that lights up! My whole band have suits that light up, they are amazing,” she said.
Musgraves had the best available tour guide for her Australian tour with her drummer Jared Kneale hailing from Sydney.
“Koala, tick, kangaroo, tick, my Australia list is done,” she joked.
