Fans Thought They Were Attending A Kacey Musgraves Concert, But It Turned Out To Be A Taping Of A Live Podcast About Mushrooms

That’s why you always read the event description.

Kacey Musgraves was in Nashville last night, but not for a concert. The Grammy-winning singer was at the Ryman Auditorium for a live taping of an episode of the Sing for Science podcast called “The Magic of Mushrooms,” which featured Musgraves along with “world-renowned fungi expert” Paul Stamets.

According to the event description:

“Join us for a live taping of the Sing For Science podcast featuring Grammy-winning artist and mycophile Kacey Musgraves alongside world-renowned fungi expert Paul Stamets.

Together, they’ll delve into the fascinating world of psilocybin, exploring what gives “magic mushrooms” their magic. Discover how psilocybin is revolutionizing mental health care, its extraordinary biology, and its profound potential to change lives. Don’t miss this enlightening and unforgettable event.”

I mean, it seems pretty clear that you probably weren’t going to get a performance of “Deeper Well” at this one.

But apparently there were quite a few people who saw Kacey’s name on the lineup and bought tickets without bothering to research what the event actually was.

Afterwards, Kacey Musgraves fans took to TikTok to laugh about the experience, admitting that they were expecting a performance and not a conversation about mushrooms.

@tara_miller

♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger

@faithhopkinsmusic

false advertisement at its finest !!! #kaceymusgraves #theryman

♬ Western Music: Arizona Dreaming – Piero Piccioni

One attendee said the crowd was “dressed to the nines” for what they thought was a concert, while another said that when an announcement was made before the show reminding people that it wasn’t a concert, some people started heading for the door:

@cliredallas

What in the false advertising #fyp #video #kaceymusgraves #nashville #music

♬ WTHELLY – Rob49

But others who were there simply laughed at those who didn’t read the description closely enough:

@__simplyerin

Yall didn’t read the event, hahahhaha!!!#kaceymusgraves#paulstamets#rymanauditorium#singforscience#nashville

♬ Heart of the Woods – Kacey Musgraves

Now, you might not expect Kacey Musgraves to be on a podcast about mushrooms, but she’s been open about her fondness for the magic shrooms, admitting that she first tried them at the age of 21 or 22 and found it to be a “profound experience.”

“Whenever you are affected by hallucinogenics, especially mushrooms, you care for the Earth. When you’re, like, tripping, it just floods out.”

And in the wake of her divorce from Ruston Kelly in 2020, she said she went on a doctor-guided mushroom journey to help deal with the trauma she was feeling:

“I did it with a doctor friend. It’s called plant therapy. It’s been looked at in a lot of areas for help with depression, anxiety, addiction, so many things.”

So it makes sense for Kacey to appear on a podcast to discuss her experience with the hallucinogen.

Paul Stamets, meanwhile, has done extensive research on psychedelic mushrooms and has even been a repeat guest on the Joe Rogan podcast to discuss the subject. He’s written tons of academic papers on the subject, is the founder of multiple companies focused on the medicinal benefits of mushrooms, including MycoMedica Life Sciences and Fungi Perfecti, and is on the board of directors of the Fungi Foundation.

Sounds like it would be an interesting discussion…although maybe not what you’re looking for if you were expecting a Kacey Musgraves concert.

Kacey Musgraves On The Difficulty Of Making Traditional Country Music

Along with mushrooms, Kacey also has a deep-rooted connection to traditional country music.

So much so that, for the 8-time Grammy Award winner’s first single with her new (but also old) record label Lost Highway Records, she decided to cover Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway.” If you are wanting to nod back to the history of country music, pulling a track from Hank’s catalogue is certainly the way to go.

And to make matters that much more personal, Musgraves included her grandparents in the recording. It was a beautiful way of both honoring the past while also excitedly moving forward with Lost Highway Records, and it’s a move that Musgraves is certainly excited about:

“Lost Highway was always a musical stable for artists who might be considered outliers or outlaws; those who live on the fringe. In 2011, when other record labels questioned my songwriting and my more traditional country sound, Lost Highway believed in me, signing me to my first label deal and helped me take my music around the world.

That journey has now come full circle in such a special way with John Janick and Interscope and I’m deeply honored to be able to once again call Lost Highway my musical home.”

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Musgraves elaborated on her choice to go with a Hank Williams cover to kick off this next stage of her career. As she explained, the traditional country music sound is something that’s a part of her – whether she likes it or not:

“From the age of seven and eight years old, I was singing all the country standards and classics: Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Hank Snow, Cindy Walker. It’s such a part of me, I can’t escape even if I wanted to. And it really feels good to wholeheartedly embrace that sound, because I’m always listening to that kind of thing.

Kacey also made sure to point out that country music is complex, despite sounding like it can be constructed simply. It’s safe to say that Musgraves knows that as well as anyone, since she’s always been able to push the boundaries of what the country genre can be. That being said, the “Deeper Well” singer always harkens back to the traditional country music sound and the storytelling properties that older country is famously known for:

“There may be a misconception that country music is easy to replicate. When you look at the bones of traditional country – the structure, the sounds, the subject matter – it’s not easy to replicate. It comes across as very simple, and the best country music is.

But it’s full of so many layers of heart and real life, real stories. And there’s a lot of restraint. Really good traditional country music, there’s a lot of space for the lyrics, the story, for the heartbreak and the texture. I really appreciate that about that era of country music. It paints a picture, but it’s subtle and it’s simple.”

Not only is traditional country music subtle and simple… it’s the best.

And yet, everybody and their mother these days is throwing on a cowboy hat and “making a country album,” with some even confessing… cough…Lana Del Rey… cough… they’re doing so simply because it’s trendy right now. And most of them… suck. But you can see what Kacey is alluding to… they think it’s easy to just pluck some banjo and sing about horses and BOOM… country song. Easy enough, right? So, I love that Kacey, who is a crossover darling herself in terms of the love she gets from the pop world, is speaking to complexity of traditional country music… somebody has to.

The post Fans Thought They Were Attending A Kacey Musgraves Concert, But It Turned Out To Be A Taping Of A Live Podcast About Mushrooms first appeared on Whiskey Riff.