Review: Kacey Musgraves delivers a brilliant performance in Vancouver

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Kacey Musgraves is not your typical Texas country troubadour.

At their performance last night at a sold-out Rogers Arena, fans were in full swing, knowing every word to every song from their career-spanning performance. There's nothing unusual about that.

But the country singer's fan base spans both sides of today's culture wars, to a degree you wouldn't normally find in an arena unless it was a Dolly Parton performance. The row I sat in included women in Lee Riders and F— Trudeau trucker caps, as well as men in latex bustiers and rainbow cowboy hats. My personal favorite was the guy wearing a T-shirt that read, “Mamas, don't let your cowboys grow up to be racists.”

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When you listen to the music of the multi-award winning and most successful artist, everything makes sense.

As she noted during the acoustic set on the Mossy Knoll B-Stage, country music is viewed by many as a certain kind of music for a certain kind of people. But she sees it as a genre that's about honest and authentic storytelling that describes real life experiences that anyone can relate to regardless of political leanings. OK, it helps if you're into super lush country rock with flawless harmonies and careful instrumentation.

Everything in the concert is set in stone, right down to the solos.

From the moment the lights went down and the starry sky illuminated while dry ice fog filled the stage, it was pretty clear that this was not going to be the usual hay bale and gingham presentation that many of today's top country artists prefer.

When Musgraves emerged from a magical doorway in white light as the seven-piece band plucked the opening notes of Cardinal, she was wearing a tobacco-colored velvet jumpsuit with giant silver sunflower fasteners that would have fit perfectly into Cher's wardrobe circa 1969. She was barefoot and her hair was pulled back in pearl braids. Her voice was crystal clear and powerful from the start. Her instrument is immaculately clean, not a single flourish can be heard in any of the tunes.

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Highlights include Golden Hour, when she stepped back from the microphone and made a conductor-like gesture to encourage the crowd to sing, which they did with perfect execution. The back-and-forth choruses on the gorgeous “Happy and Sad,” which is sure to become a country classic. And the call-and-response wordplay on her breakthrough hit “Follow Your Arrow,” performed in canon as a campfire sing-along with acoustic instruments.

Given her long list of collaborators, it was no surprise when she brought members of Nickel Creek on stage to perform a hilariously upbeat version of Kill Bill, which Musgraves touted as a murder ballad that Vancouver audiences should enjoy. She also shouted out her other opener, Father John Misty, as well as YVR, one of her main airports in North America. This haphazard banter ended up leaving everyone smiling.

But nothing transformed the crowd like the cover of Chappell Roan's smash hit “Pink Pony Club.”

With rainbow lighting and confetti cannons, the big beach balls were released and the party began. This wasn't the last performance, but it set the tone for the singer's announcement that she won't be doing any encores because she thinks it's a bit of a deception – I totally agree – and that it's better to let everyone out on the last few songs and call it a day.

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The Pink Pony Club workout was followed by “Deeper Well,” the touching title track from her new album, and she rounded it off with the tender ballad “Rainbow” from her album “Golden Hour.”

A worthy conclusion to a brilliant performance that fans will be talking about for a long time.

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