Kacey Musgraves Says ‘Pageant Material’ Is Inspired By Her Own Life

With her just-released sophomore album, Pageant Material, Kacey Musgraves didn't have any concerns about recreating the same magic that made her freshman disc, Same Trailer, Different Park, a huge hit.

"I didn't really have any intentions going in, except for just wanting to write good songs, country songs," Musgraves tells Taste of Country. "All my songs are inspired by what's going on in my world and in my life."

Musgraves co-wrote all of the record's 13 tracks, weaving details of her life into each song, including one particular tune that has a personal and meaningful family connection.

"You'll hear a woman's voice on the song called "This Town," on the beginning of this song," the 26-year-old says. "My grandmother, who passed away about a year and a half ago, I had a secret recording of her telling this story, and she didn't know we were recording it, and we used it on this song."

Musgraves also honors her tiny hometown of Alba, Texas, (population: 504) in the tune.

"It's all love," she maintains. "There's a lot of truth though. There's a lot of BS that happens sometimes, and you just notice it more because there's less people than in a big city. But I love where I'm from."

The debut single from Pageant Material, "Biscuits," was written by Musgraves, along with frequent collaborators Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark.

“Here’s what happened: We had started this song when we wrote “Follow Your Arrow,”" McAnally recalls."'[Mind your own biscuits]' was something we had said in another songwriting thing ..."

“We were like, ‘That has to be a song, the whole idea,’ and so we saved it,” Musgraves continues. “I feel like it was Brandy, because she’s like, if there’s a puzzle piece missing in a song, she’s just, like, infamous for [saying], ‘You know, this may not work, but what about this?’ And it always works. It’s mind blowing. You’re like, ‘Oh, you just pulled this out of your little pocket there?’"

Pageant Material is available on Amazon and iTunes.

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