See Kacey Musgraves’ Acoustic ‘High Horse’ at the Opry
“Don’t be scared,” Kacey Musgraves says to the Grand Ole Opry audience in a new video, just as her band launches into the disco-tinged tune “High Horse.”
It’s half in jest, because Musgraves and her band — spread out across the front of the Opry stage — give the most danceable track on Golden Hour a thorough makeover with only acoustic instruments. Instead of the filtered intro from the studio recording, the musicians build upon a layered, hypnotic pattern of notes until Musgraves opens her mouth to sing the first verse. They maintain the speedy clip and groove of the original, but the drums are quietly brushed and the otherworldly melodic accents are recreated to surprising effect by cello. The performance culminates in a double-timed finish that bears unmistakable traces of classic country and gets enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Golden Hour, which was released in March, recently won the CMA Award for Album of the Year. Musgraves spent a large portion of 2018 touring with Little Big Town and British pop star Harry Styles, but she’ll step out front beginning January 9th, when the North American leg of the Oh, What a World Tour kicks off in Indianapolis.