Kacey Musgraves Had a Very Special Guest at Her First ‘Austin City Limits’ Performance [Exclusive Video]
When Kacey Musgraves made her debut on the long-running television performance series Austin City Limits in 2013, she had a very special guest there with her: her maternal grandmother, Barbara Taylor. The memory remains a special one for the country star, as it was one of the final times she saw Memaw.
Musgraves' grandma was an ER nurse in Texas, the singer's home state; in fact, it's her voice that fans hear at the start of "This Town," a song from Musgraves' 2015 album Pageant Material. Sadly, Taylor died in December of 2013, shortly after Musgraves' ACL debut, in a house fire.
"She came to the show, and we had a wonderful time together," Musgraves remembers. "So when I think back to that show, I have very special memories of it."
As both a native Texan and a prominent member of the country music community, Musgraves knows just how important Austin City Limits is to the musical landscape. "It's just so classic," the star describes, "and there will never be another ACL."
Following her Austin City Limits debut, Musgraves appeared on the TV show for a second time in 2018. It's that episode, which also features Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, that one of more than 40 classic episodes now streaming for free through the end of June: a gift from ACL to fans who are staying home because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
"It's been a while since I've been able to come back to my home state," Musgraves, who lives in the Nashville area with her husband, singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly, admits, adding, "I've been especially nostalgic and reminiscent in this whole quarantine weirdness."
Other Austin City Limits episodes now available to watch on demand include performances from John Prine, Miranda Lambert, Kane Brown and more. Additionally, encore TV broadcasts of ACL performances by Chris Stapleton, Steve Earle and more are on the calendar for the coming weeks. Fans can get the full schedule and watch the streaming episodes at PBS.org.
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