Kacey Musgraves Honors Dolly Parton With Stunning Performance of “Rainbow” at Her Nashville Show

Kacey Musgraves is honoring a legend. The same night that the country star’s VMAs tribute to Dolly Parton aired, Musgraves brought her Middle of Nowhere Tour to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

During her set, Musgraves took time out to acknowledge Parton, one month after the icon died following a short battle with cancer.

Before she began singing, Musgraves noted that the next song was for anyone “who might me having a little bit of a hard week.” She then asked the crowd to sing the track back to her throughout her performance.

The crowd obliged, belting out the lyrics to Musgraves 2018 hit, “Rainbow,” as photos of Parton appeared on the arena’s screens.

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The touching tribute wasn’t the only time that Musgraves mentioned Parton during her show. As she introduced the title track of her latest LP, Musgraves pointed out that “a large part of the [country] genre was built by people who weren’t afraid to say s**t that was uncomfortable.”

“I think about Dolly and getting banned from the radio for singing about some taboo stuff. I think about Loretta [Lynn] getting banned for singing about birth control. I think about Tammy [Wynette] singing about divorce when it was taboo,” she said, before pointing up to her much-publicized disco balls set piece and noting, “Those balls up there, those belong to all those women.”

“Of course, obviously, it was the men too. It was Willie [Nelson], it was Waylon [Jennings], it was [Johnny] Cash, it was John Prine. It was all of those people, all of my heroes,” Musgraves continued. “But I just really hope that that spirit is really able to stay present and alive in country music, because that’s how we push our genre forward.”

What to Know About Kacey Musgraves’ Nashville Concert

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Night one of Musgraves’ two-night stint in Nashville got off to a fun start. She walked out with a horse while performing “Everyone Wants to Be a Cowboy.”

Musgraves’ unique rotating stage, cinematic visuals, and smooth voice provided an unparalleled experience for fans. She performed new songs from Middle of Nowhere alongside tracks ranging from “Justified” to “Merry Go Round” to “Follow Your Arrow.”

The night came to end with Musgraves performing her take on George Strait’s “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.” Musgraves previously released her version of the song, in which she rewrote the verses from her own perspective.

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The sold out crowd loved every moment. Musgraves could feel as much during her time on stage. In fact, she told the audience, “You make the middle of nowhere look really good.”

Photo by Matthew Taplinger/CBS via Getty Images