On Sept. 4, alternative country artist Kacey Musgraves performed at State College’s Bryce Jordan Center (BJC). Musgraves was accompanied by special guests Father John Misty and Nickel Creek.
The concert was the first of 36 North American stops on Musgrave’s “Deeper Well World Tour,” commemorating the album, which was released on Mar. 15. The record was met with favorable reviews — the most streamed songs include the title track “Deeper Well” and “Arm’s Length.”
Sophomore Kajsa Banks attended the concert with her mom, who is also a big Musgraves fan. “She likes her type of music, because it’s country but not too country, and she has a nice voice with good lyrics in her songs,” Banks said. Musgraves’ genre of music is multifaceted, with fans claiming her style ranges from country to folk to indie.
Musgrave’s original songs attracted thousands of fans to the BJC to hear their favorites. “I looked into her setlist […], and I noticed she wasn’t playing ‘Dinner with Friends’, and I was really upset about this! […] But then she decided to run a surprise song segment and played ‘Dinner with Friends,’ so I lost it,” junior Lauren Krentzman said. “But I also really liked — she covered ‘Pink Pony Club’ by Chappell Roan, which was crazy.”
“My favorite song is ‘Rainbow,’ and she played it at the end, so it was really fun,” junior Jackie Eveleth said. “It was the first song I listened to by her.”
Musgraves was also accompanied by indie artist Father John Misty and country band Nickel Creek. As more “underground” artists, they opened for Musgraves and performed alongside her for a couple of songs. “I had heard of Father John Misty because he’s in a Lana Del Rey song, but that’s the only thing I knew about them,” Eveleth said. “They weren’t bad, I didn’t love them personally.”
Overall, fans enjoyed the Kacey Musgraves concert, highlighting her signature lyrics, voice, and excellent setlist. “I thought she had great stage presence, and she just had a super great show. She did a lot of new stuff, mixed in with her old stuff,” Krentzman said.
Banks had similar thoughts, despite her going last-minute. “I thought it was really worth it to go, because she has a great voice, and her lyrics are good,” Banks said. “It was just a cool concert to see.”
The experience at the BJC seemed to be up to mark as well, with lights, sound quality, and seating all receiving high reviews from concert attendees. “The stage was really pretty, it had [an outdoorsy feel], and this grassy knoll that she played on,” Banks said.
“[The experience] definitely wasn’t as great as it would have been at a really big stadium […], but I thought it was great. The set up was really awesome,” Krentzman said.
The 15,000-plus capacity arena has more upcoming events for State College locals to look forward to. The Bryce Jordan Center will be hosting Jelly Roll on Oct. 1, and Blake Shelton a few days after on Oct. 4.
