Days after teasing new music on social media, Kacey Musgraves has officially returned — and she’s more real than ever.
The singer-songwriter dropped the new single “Dry Spell,” a charming, relatable country confessional about being horny. “It’s been a real long 335 days/And the last time, it wasn’t good anyway,” she sings. “I’m so lonely/Lonely with a capital ‘H,’ if you know what I mean/I’ve been sitting on the washing machine.”
The stunner is the first glimpse of Musgraves’ new album Middle of Nowhere, out May 1 via Lost Highway Records. The 13-song track list features collaborations with Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings, and Gregory Alan Isakov. Check it out below.
“The bulk of this record was made during the longest single period of my life”, Musgraves said in a statement. “I found that for the first time, it actually felt incredible being alone and existing in a space not defined by anyone else. I became fascinated with the concept of liminal space, both geographical and emotional. We don’t linger in these transitional, empty spaces long enough and rush to define where or whatever is next.”
She added: “I became so at ease with being in the ‘middle of nowhere’ in many senses, and sitting in the un-comfort of the undefined. I had a lot of time for creative ambling and leaning into myself in different ways; horses, humor, writing with my early collaborators again, and living out my very simple, inspired life between Texas, Tennessee, and Mexico.”
Musgraves produced Middle of Nowhere with her longtime collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. The LP, her sixth studio album, derives from a sign she spotted in her hometown of Golden, Texas (“Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere”), which has a population of under 300 people.
Middle of Nowhere follows 2024’s Deeper Well and 2021’s Star-Crossed. In 2023, Musgraves appeared on three excellent duets: The No. 1 hit “I Remember Everything” with Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan’s “She Calls Me Back,” and Madi Diaz’s “Don’t Do Me Good.”
The new album marks Musgraves’ first release since returning to Lost Highway, the label that first signed her back in 2011. Upon reuniting with them last year, Musgraves stressed that this was not a “return” to country. “I want to make it super clear that I never left,” she said at the time. “It’s always been a home base, and it’s truly where I’m sonically the most happy. But since the beginning, I’ve always had an exploratory foot out the door a little bit, allowing myself to infuse all these other genres that speak to me.”
Middle of Nowhere Track List
1. “Middle of Nowhere”
2. “Dry Spell”
3. “Back on the Wagon”
4. “I Believe in Ghosts”
5. “Abilene”
6. “Coyote” feat. Gregory Alan Isakov
7. “Loneliest Girl”
8. “Everybody Wants To Be a Cowboy” feat. Billy Strings
9. “Horses and Divorces” feat. Miranda Lambert
10. “Uncertain, Texas” feat. Willie Nelson
11. “Rhinestoned”
12. “Mexico Honey”
13. “Hell on Me”
