Gig review: Kacey Musgraves debuts new song at Dublin’s Olympia

“We’ve three songs left,” she tells the crowd as she starts wrapping up affairs, “we won’t be doing an encore.” 

Some consternation ensues, the 'olé olé olé' is part and parcel of any Irish gig surely? But, instead, after Musgraves delivers four bars of ‘Easier Said’ (the most she gives to fifth album/divorce record  star-crossed all night), she announces she has a surprise in store.

“I’m going to end this show with a song you’ve never heard before,” she says. “This is not something that night one got, this is just for you... "

What comes is a sweet air about the cruelties of ghosting, this time referred to as an Irish goodbye.

“No face to face, no eye to eye, I thought this meant more, but I guess that’s alright / I’ll forgive your faults if you’ll forgive mine, but it’s hard to forgive your Irish goodbye.” 

It’s best described as a little ditty. A simple tune with simple words, but this is what Musgraves does best. Her vocals are as smooth as Tennessee whiskey, as the David Allan Coe song goes, and tonight the sold-out crowd is happy to get drunk on her unique blend of American country. 

Dressed top-to-toe in black denim (jacket complete with floral embroidery and white fringe), the 31 year-old is bare-foot and pitch-perfect for every note of the 90 minute show, most of which is dedicated to her latest release, Deeper Well.

That album was released over a month ago, so it's a sufficient amount of lead-in time for fans ahead of the tour which kicked off in Dublin on Sunday, but it's clear from the crowd that only the first couple of rows are well acquainted with it beyond the singles at this stage. 

So, it's the older tracks that really get the crowd excited tonight. The twee 'High Horse' is a crowd favourite, as is the warm hug that is 'Slow Burn'. A solo rendition of her duet with Zach Bryan 'I Remember Everything' goes down a treat, while 'Follow Your Arrow' and 'Merry Go 'Round' are sang-along-to with gusto (and oh if that steel guitar on 'Merry Go 'Round' could get any sweeter..)

For her part, the seven-time Grammy award winner seems to be in top form, oversharing about what happened on her trip to the Aran Islands earlier this week (a bike wreck, a dodgy fish and chips and an upset tummy is the polite version) and seeming as enthralled by the uilleann pipes player that graces the stage for a special version of 'Heaven Is' as everyone else. 

Earlier in the night, Musgraves had told the crowd it was a conscious decision to start this tour in Ireland.

"There’s a lot of ties between classic Celtic music and this record," she said. "I’m just enchanted by this country."

Tonight, we're all enchanted by her, but despite the gift of a surprise song, many of us would have still loved an encore.