Muna, King Princess, and Kacey Musgraves
United Center // Chicago, IL // January 20, 2022
Kacey Musgraves headlined Chicago’s United Center and brought the house down
It felt so surreal yet so wonderful to be back in a stadium with screaming and dancing fans. Country pop diva Kacey Musgraves‘ Star Crossed tour is THE winter tour, and it’s easy to see why. Not only was Musgraves in top form, but opening acts Muna and King Princess brought a queer, emotional energy to the tour that brought tears to more than a few eyes.
Photo by Kate Scott
Muna opened the show with “Number One Fan”, one of my personal favorite songs of the last few years. Singer Katie Gavin is from the Evanston, a town just north of Chicago, so she was extra thrilled to be playing at United Center. “This is my home show!” she said, flipping her hair and smiling to the fans in the pit. As more and more concert-goers started to find their seats, the energy started to feel electric. The sight of velvet, pastel cowboy hats filled my heart with so much happiness.
Photo by Kate Scott
Next up, King Princess played an incredible grunge-pop set in the most iconic 90s fashion (baggy, plaid shirt and JNCO-style jeans, we love to see it). King Princess is one of those pop starts that you can see in an arena, and their energy is just as intimate and personal as seeing them on a tiny stage. They played a brand new, unreleased song titled “Loving Me Takes Patience”, which had the audience hanging onto every new lyric. While King Princess’ set was a little more mellow than Muna and Kacey Musgraves, their heartfelt ballads and guitar solos were absolutely perfect.
Photo by Kate Scott
As the lights went down on the stage for the start of Kacey Musgraves’ show, I was filled with a sense of nostalgia I didn’t realize I had missed: the screams of fans. Kacey came onstage wearing a PVC jumpsuit, looking absolutely radiant, and as she sang “Star Crossed”, I felt a chill run up my spine. Musgraves knows how to work a crowd of any size, and there were moments where I felt her singing only to me. And as thousands of flower petals fell during “Cherry Blossom”, I saw a group of fans crying while singing. It was truly a night to remember.
Photo by Kate Scott
