Styling by Erica Cloud
Kacey Musgraves has never been your typical country artist. Early in her career, she promised that, on her watch, we could date whoever we wanted and get high if we so wished on perfect crossover songs laced with vocoders and a psychedelic haze. After a period of major upheaval in her life, Musgraves is feeling more serene and grounded on her sixth studio album, Deeper Well – an album that has kept fans on their toes by embracing a more downhome folk sound. And in keeping with her positive mindset, it seems the stars are aligned for her. The day we speak, it’s announced that she’s earned the biggest sales week of her career for the album’s debut, and hit number one on the Top Country Albums chart and number two on the Billboard 200.
Your new album’s title track, ‘Deeper Well’, namechecks the astrological transit, the Saturn return. You, Ariana Grande, SZA – everyone’s talking about Saturn right now.
When I found out about the Saturn return, it explained a lot. It’s a rough time. I choose to see it as a positive thing because I think it can be an amazing teacher and it clears the way for adulthood. I’m still examining everything as I navigate through relationships and get deeper into my 30s. What does true love look like for me? What do healthy friendships look like for me? What is it that I need in order to feel at peace? I’m typically interested in things like astrology. I think there is a bit of truth to it; women’s bodies are so dictated by the 28-day moon cycle, I don’t know how we wouldn’t also be somewhat influenced by planets.
In ‘Moving Out’ you talk about ending a relationship and leaving your home. Where have you moved to? What’s that process been like?
I love where I’m at right now. I’m on the edge of a state park, and so I’m close to things that I want to be close to, but also feel a world away. I see lots of deer and owls, and there’s hiking trails. I love the process of turning a house into a home; I’ve always found a lot of joy and comfort in that – finding a place you love but then really making it yours. So for me, it’s always really sad to leave a place behind. You’ve poured so much of yourself into it and created so many memories there. You became the person that you were in that space, and you don’t know who you’re gonna be in the next.
It’s a weird transitionary time that’s wrapped up in so many different emotions.
Yeah, lately I’ve been intrigued by the idea of liminal space as a transitional place. If you get on Instagram, there’s so many accounts dedicated to liminal spaces that are really nostalgic. They evoke an eeriness or a forlorn feeling. A lot of them have to do with childhood: like hallways or a movie theatre that doesn’t have anybody in it, or an abandoned mall. And then there’s the idea, emotionally, of being in a liminal space where you’re between one place and another. You’re in between relationships, in between jobs, in between houses, whatever. That liminal space is really fertile ground for whatever’s going to happen next, but it can feel uncertain because you don’t know what’s going to happen. I think ‘Moving Out’ touches on that a little bit.
Whenever I’m feeling sad, I just want to stay in those spaces and not leave.
I know! Why are we like this? I’m learning to lean into that space a little bit more and not rush to the next thing. I feel good right now, being single and observing where I’m at, and enjoying this space that isn’t really defined by anyone or anything. I think a younger me would be rushing to the next thing because I would be uncomfortable sitting in the unknown, but I’m really enjoying the unknown right now. One thing about me is I really love having a companion, but I don’t want to fill space just to fill it. The next person who comes into my life better add some fucking value because I already have everything I need.
What is ‘deeper well’ a metaphor for?
To me, the words ‘deeper well’ indicate growth or progression from something that was previously more shallow. You have to be really brave to want to move forward and go deeper, and to want more out of your life and out of your relationship with yourself or your understanding of God and nature. The last body of work anyone heard from me was a post-divorce record [2021’s Star-Crossed], and my quest since that part of my life has been to try to understand more about myself and more about everything around me. I read that a well is a connection to a source – a channel to get to a deeper place that we all need in order to live, to love and to know ourselves. I just think that my quest as a human, and also as a creator, is to get as close to that source as possible.
I definitely think artists are able to access that deep subconscious, or possibly psychic space.
I really believe that creators are just vessels for messages and ideas to come through. I would say of all my song ideas, I don’t know where they come from. They hit me like a lightning bolt. And then of course, when they’re channelled through me, they get shaped to my taste, as I see them. They’re coming from somewhere that is beyond me, so it’s really spiritual for me – especially this record.
In ‘The Architect’, you’re wondering about God’s motives. How did that song come about?
I constantly have these existential questions in my mind. I could be having a great time at a party, and then just be like, “Oh yeah, we’re all going to die. What the fuck?” ‘The Architect’ is a massive question mark as to how much control do we really have here? I wrote this song with two of my really good friends a few weeks after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, which was just so tragic. Nashville didn’t feel normal for a long time after that. I had this title, ‘The Architect’, in my back pocket. We were sitting there, chatting and questioning things, like, why is life so beautiful and filled with so much suffering at the same time? If there is any sort of force out there that is moving things along, is there any rhyme or reason to it, or any sort of point to it all? Are we supposed to learn something from all of this, or is it just completely random?
I wanted to ask, what do you think about country music having a moment in pop culture right now? Some of the biggest artists in the world are at it.
The country music I listen to will always be timeless, no matter if it’s having a moment in pop or not. But I think people are interested because it’s a format that is based around storytelling and real stories. That’s pretty refreshing right now for people who are looking to just connect. A country song will connect with you differently than a dancefloor anthem. I understand why it’s enticing.
I saw this cute video of you the other day, yodelling on TV as a kid. It was posted by a big meme account.
Oh my god. That was a big part of my childhood, singing traditional country and western songs, wearing cowboy hats and [denim with] fringe. Eventually, I got a guitar and started writing my own stuff and finding my own perspective, my own voice. But growing up, I was singing all Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. It’s always funny to see country come and go, but true country music has so much heart and soul, and that’s not super easy to replicate.
TEAM CREDITS
Creative Direction: Sara Zion
Hair: Giovanni Delgado
Makeup: Moani Lee
Location: The Standard High Line
Production: Zion Studios
Production Manager: Jennifer Urbanowski
Photo Assistant: Diego Garcia
Styling Assistant: Garrett Ives
Production Assistant: Jack Eddy
FASHION CREDITS
Bodysuit & skirt: LaQuan Smith
Boots: Celine
Vintage coat: Givenchy
Necklace: Janis Savitt
Ring: Retrouvai
