Kacey Musgraves Debuts New Album With Help From Nashville Drag Queens


For country star Kacey Musgraves, a gay bar was the obvious choice to debut her new album, Pageant Material. It was also a no-brainer to have drag queens help by performing and lip-syncing along to almost every song.

Kacey didn’t pick just any gay bar for her release party. She chose her favorite Nashville gay bar, Play, which she visits frequently, according to Good Morning America. Inspiration for the big event came while Musgraves was at Play with her friend and publicist, Elice Cuff, celebrating Cuff’s birthday.

“We were here for [Cuff’s] birthday, slightly inebriated, and she leaned over and was like, ‘You have to do something here for your album.’ And I was like, ‘That is a brilliant idea.’ So, it’s all Elice’s idea, and it was a really good one.”

Musgraves fell in love with Play soon after moving to Nashville. While she has visited other gay bars, she became enchanted by the drag shows at Play. Kacey is no stranger to controversy and proudly marches to the beat of her own drum, so she naturally loved the idea of mixing country music and drag queens.

“Whenever I came here, I just fell in love with it. So, it’s kind of cool to come back and have an event here like this — a country music event at a drag bar. I mean, it’s kind of brilliant. I can’t wait to see what the girls are wearing. I’m pretty sure they’re tucking and taping right now, getting ready.”

Kacey’s single “Follow Your Arrow” was met with controversy within the country music community because of its references to smoking pot and same-sex relationships. Despite the opposition, it won Song of the Year at the 2014 CMA Awards. The song obviously resonated with many, and Kacey Musgraves takes pride in helping LGBT country fans feel accepted. She recently explained to People why she is feels so strongly about it.

“After high school, my best friend came out to me, and he was like, ‘I don’t feel like I can be myself, and you’re the first person I’m telling.’ That is still a lot of people’s reality. [If] a kid feels like they can walk a little taller because of something I sang, I’m inspired by that.”

The 26-year-old Texan knows she “won’t be everybody’s cup of tea,” but she’s okay with that, saying, “I don’t let people’s approval make or break what I’m doing.”

Kacey Musgraves sophomore album, Pageant Material, releases June 23. You can also read more about her in the July issue of Redbook, which features her as covergirl.

[Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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