We're just two days away from Kacey Musgraves' new album Middle Of Nowhere, and the promo campaign is in high gear. Today, she's announced a North American arena tour and weighed in on "Horses & Divorces," her new collaboration with former foe Miranda Lambert.
Musgraves and Lambert both hail from Texas, and they have some history. As the story goes, way back in 2011, two years before Musgraves launched her career with Same Trailer Different Park, she was working as a pro songwriter in Nashville. She teamed up with Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally to write "Mama's Broken Heart," which she believed could become her own debut single as a recording artist. But someone pitched the song to Lambert, already a superstar at the time, and she ended up cutting it for her own 2011 album Four The Record. In 2013, later in the album cycle, Lambert released "Mama's Broken Heart" as a single, and it topped the country chart.
Last month, Musgraves spoke to NPR about her feelings surrounding the situation:
There was all this excitement behind "Mama's Broken Heart" for me. It was gonna be my first single and I loved the song so much. I had been a staff writer for years at that point, writing for other people, and had finally felt like I was collecting songs that felt like me that I didn't wanna pitch to anyone else.
Then, the song gets pitched to her without my consent or knowledge. It was a tricky situation. She ended up loving the song and she really wanted it. And I had other co-writers to consider.
I knew I would have to go back to the drawing board. And ultimately, I'm really glad that I did, because it forced me to write "Merry Go Round," which ended up making way more sense for me anyways, aesthetically and lyrically, to kick my whole thing off, versus "Mama's Broken Heart." And that ended up going No. 1 for her. So in the end, everyone won because I was able to let go of something.
In a new Variety cover story out today, Musgraves elaborates that she and Lambert had real beef over the fate of that song: "It was grass-fed, grade A." She also reiterated the story, previously explained to NPR, of how "Horses & Divorces" came together:
I mean, [the conflict is] real, and that’s why I love this song, because it’s not coming from some contrived place in a writing room. We’ve come together after years of really, honestly, not being friends. I had this idea one day when I saw her on Instagram, riding one of her horses, and I thought, "Well, I guess we have two things in common: horses and divorces." And I was like, "Wait, that’s a song." Then I took it a step further: "What if I write it with her? What if it’s a duet? Fuck it, I’m gonna reach out." I hadn’t spoken to her in years and was like, "Hey, I have this idea. If anybody would get it, it would be you. We’ve had our shit over the years, but this would be really funny." And she was like, "I’m down."
I was like, "Look, I’m not trying to be your friend, but we should write this song at least." So it was a late addition, the last song added.
The Variety story has new details about Musgraves and Lambert's reconciliation. McAnally, who cowrote "Horses & Divorces," recalls Lambert texting Musgraves, "I love this idea and I think we have to write it with Shane, because if we don’t, he’ll never forgive us." Musgraves adds:
In our writing session, Miranda said, "Hey, I wouldn’t have the career that I have without that song, and I’m really grateful for it." So it was very full circle. It was a plot twist that even I did not see coming, so it really surprised me too. We talked about everything, and we’re both older now and have less energy for dumb shit. I don’t love having weirdness with anyone out there.
Musgraves will perform at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs), airing live on Prime Video Sunday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET. As for the tour, it kicks off in late August and continues through late October, carrying Musgraves across the US (with one quick pop into Canada) with a range of openers. Registration for the presale is open now. It runs from Wednesday, May 6 at 10 a.m. local time to Thursday, May 7 at 10 p.m. local time. General public onsale begins Friday, May 8. Check out the dates below.
TOUR DATES:
08/21 - Chicago, IL @ United Center (w/ Midland)
08/24 - Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena (w/ Midland)
08/28 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden (w/ Midland)
08/31 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/01 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/04 - Philadelphia, PA @ Xfinity Mobile Arena (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/05 - Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/08 - Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/09 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center (w/ Midland)
09/11 - Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum (w/ Midland)
09/12 - St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center (w/ Midland)
09/22 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center (w/ Carter Faith)
09/23 - Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center (w/ Charles Wesley Godwin)
09/25 - Louisville, KY @ Bourbon & Beyond FESTIVAL
09/27 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/28 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena (w/ Flatland Cavalry)
09/30 - Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena (w/ Charles Wesley Godwin)
10/02 - Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center (w/ Estevie)
10/05 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center (w/ William Beckmann)
10/07 - Austin, TX @ Moody Center (w/ William Beckmann)
10/10 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center (w/ William Beckmann)
10/13 - Denver, CO @ Ball Arena (w/ Carter Faith)
10/15 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center (w/ Gabriella Rose)
10/17 - Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center (w/ Gabriella Rose)
10/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena (w/ Gabriella Rose)
10/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena (w/ Estevie)
10/23 - Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena (w/ Estevie)
10/26 - Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena (w/ The Brudi Brothers)
10/27 - Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena (w/ The Brudi Brothers)
Kacey Musgraves - Middle Of Nowhere [Rodeo Clown Colored LP]
Middle Of Nowhere is out 5/1 on Lost Highway.
