Kacey Musgraves, Gavin Adcock, and The Return of the Country Minute Newsletter

We are so back.

Mar 17, 2024

After a short delay, the newsletter is back! We have weekly content coming you way, including essays, reviews, news, and more. The formatting has changed, so here’s what we’ve got in store:

On Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well and our evolving relationship with the musician we love
Gavin Adcock: Country’s Newest Outlaw
Country Headlines
New Music Recommendations
Final Thoughts

As always, follow us on TikTok and Instagram for country news and entertainment.

I Found A Deeper Well

Before purchasing or streaming Kacey Musgraves' new album, Deeper Well, I saw the early reactions from peers and fans. Such things are inevitable when you live life online. From what I saw and read, very little dealt with the record's content as much as the mood and overall 'vibes.' The takeaway was that everyone thought Musgraves' return was "sleepy," "quiet," or something akin to saying it didn't do much for them.

That's all well and fine. People are entitled to an opinion. But it did bring up some thoughts I've had in recent months as my wife and I welcomed our first child, Justin, that feels increasingly relevant in this age of oversaturation in music.

The magic trick of all great art is the sense of human connection it can achieve. Music can meet us where we are when we need connection most. It is the non-judgmental best friend we all wish we had, even if we have great friends in our lives already.

And like all friendships, the probability of your connection to certain artists remaining strong over years or even decades is relatively low. It's only natural for people to grow and to grow apart. After all, you never really knew that musician or their situation. They live a life you cannot imagine, and the same is true in reverse. Still, humans struggle with this evolution because our connection to music is one we think of in the same way we do a romantic or platonic bond.

This is why so many lose interest in music as they age. It's not that people no longer seek connection through art as they grow older, but that the specificity of our problems and lifestyles is such that it makes it more challenging than ever to find that bond through vaguely relatable lyricism. A song about a bad day or a wild Friday night doesn't hit the same at 36 as it did when I was 18, much like I no longer relate to songs about wishing my parents understood me or that my first crush would give me a chance.

The reality is that I'm 36 and living in the Midwest. I have a kid and a wife I love, a job that pays the bills (as long as my side hustles don't falter), and a roof over my head. I understand that the problems that keep me up and the hard times I'd rather forget are not found in most songs. I don't expect art to meet me where I am, especially not from the artists who knew me when I was someone else entirely.

This brings me back to Deeper Well, Kacey Musgraves's first release since the "divorce" album known as Star-Crossed. That record was said to be divisive due to its change in tone and style from the wildly successful LP that preceded it (Golden Hour), but such changes made sense. Golden Hour was a celebration of love, with the title track dedicated to Musgraves' then-husband. Their marriage would dissolve before Star-Crossed, thus giving it a distinct tone and sound radically different from everything that came prior.

Divorce changes you in ways only understood by other divorced people. It's not just a loss of a partner, but a loss of who you are and who you thought you were becoming. Suddenly, you question everything about your choices and the paths you've followed because somewhere (you tell yourself) you made a wrong choice. Some handle it through escape, but others take it as a sign that they never really knew themselves in the first place. Even if they did, that person is now dead and gone. The only path is forward.

Deeper Well is a record about that search, not just in the wake of divorce but of aging and loss as well. Musgraves sings of learning to lean on the universe, precisely nature itself, to find comfort amidst the calamity of existence. She's learning to love herself and break bad habits, like smoking gravity bongs first thing ("Deeper Well") in the morning or taking for granted the little things that make life so unique ("Dinner With Friends"). She's also learning to let go ("Moving Out") and trust herself again ("Nothing To Be Scared Of"). She's even finding the strength to love again ("Anime Eyes").

It all comes to a head on "The Architect," a thinly-veiled open letter to God or whatever higher power you choose to address. As Musgraves sings over acoustic guitar, she takes in life's incredible beauty and chaos with a sense of befuddled concern. Is everything going according to plan, or is it just luck? Does some great being carve out the rivers and valleys, or do we exist in an uncaring universe that she likens to paint thrown on a wall? Kacey wavers between gratitude and concern before getting to the question that might free her: Is there even an architect to begin with?

To borrow from Ram Dass, someone I'm certain Musgraves has spent time studying in recent years:

"The power of God is within me. The grace of God surrounds me. The optimum strategy is to act as if we have free choice and to choose always that which we feel is most in harmony with the way of things."

We cannot find answers if they do not exist. We can hope in the impossible or embrace the practical, and Musgraves has chosen to do the latter. She's finding the strength to face the unknown with the confidence to do what she must to seek peace. In other words, she cannot wait for someone to save her, so she's chosen to save herself.

You don't have to meet artists where they are, but you should understand that our journeys through existence are not parallel. There may be similar moments and feelings, and they will comprise the songs that impact your life. Still, the people behind those songs that make you feel less alone are themselves seeking meaning, peace, and connection. They may find some of that through the connection their art bares, but that alone is not enough to make a person complete. Deeper Well is Kacey Musgraves sharing herself as a work in progress, and that's good for me because it's all I am as well. It sounds like she's healing, and honestly, good for her.

Gavin Adcock: Country’s Newest Outlaw

Regardless of the headlines you may be reading about the war between TikTok and the major labels pulling their catalog, the platform continues to be an incredible source of music discovery. The most recent of these otherwise hidden gems appears to be Gavin Adcock, a 20-something Georgia native with a penchant for writing songs about bad behavior with a level of self-awareness usually reserved for songs by Koe Wetzel or Parker McCollum. While others may rely on subtext to get their point across in songwriting, Gavin Adcock is all text. You don't have to think about it to get it; it'll only hurt worse if you do.

As far as the Internet is concerned, Adcock got his start when the song "Deep End" hit streaming services in early 2023. The song, which toes the line between red dirt anthems and modern rock, tackles debauchery and regret through lived experiences. As Adcock recounts meaningless hookups and drug addiction, his tongue twists while he grapples with knowing the difference between right and wrong while feeling unable (or perhaps unwilling) to make a change.

I'm off the Deep End
Ain't no sense sleeping with these girls
And I've been keeping
Up with the demons of this world
Yeah I'm off the deep end

Knowing you're doing wrong and struggling to make meaningful change is a theme throughout Adcock's music, and it's arguably the secret to his success. Everything about his presence contradicts this current moment in culture where influencers and social media have placed impossible expectations on regular people. Just look at these lines from his song "A Cigarette" as proof:

Caffeine, nicotine
Fueling all my crazy dreams and
I've had a couple times, I lit one up and said I was fine
But I wish I was laying in a queen sized bed with you
But right now a cigarette will do
But a cigarette can't fill the void of you

Adcock's music is outlaw escapism for hard-partying twenty-somethings, people with an addiction, and outcasts alike to come together in recognition in recognition of their shared experiences and the unruly adventures resulting from their actions. It also allows people living opposite lifestyles to pretend, even if just for a minute, that they are a bit wilder than they allow themselves to be.

Videos online showcase raucous live shows with band members performing on table tops, smashing glass, and chugging drinks, all while fans are losing their voices singing along to every word. There is no label shine, no industry editing, no nothing other than the authentic connection between artist and consumer.

Last week, Adcock extended his reign over the viral song charts with a new track, "Past Actions," released worldwide. The song, which is arguably more pop-punk leaning than anything resembling traditional country, serves as something of a thesis statement for everything he creates:

What I'd do for you to forget my past actions
Yeah baby, just maybe I've been living wrong
Can't turn back, can't backtrack
Staring down at the bottom of my glass
You won't look me in the eye anymore

Earning more than one million streams in its first seven days of release, "Past Actions" will likely push Adcock further into the spotlight. His fans are engaging online and turning up in person, spending hard-earned cash to join hundreds of others in singing about the perils of bad decision-making. Whether or not the Nashville machine "gets it" is besides the point. Adcock has found his audience; better yet, he knows what they want.

It's all about acceptance. Accepting who we are, what we've done, and our inability to do anything other than continue working on the person we're becoming. Gavin Adcock cannot control how others think of him, nor can you or I. Our best chance at happiness lies in accepting ourselves. If you can do that, then you're already ahead of most.

COUNTRY HEADLINES

Kameron Marlowe announced his new album, Keepin' The Lights On, will arrive in May. We saw him in January and had the time of our lives.
After teasing a run for Mayor last week, Ernest has announced his new album, Nashville, Tennessee, will arrive in April. The album features collaborations with Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll, among others. The video for the latter is really good:
Speaking of Jelly Roll, here’s the long-awaited tattoo tour of the hit singer.
Luke Combs continued teasing new music. Here’s a song for dads that’ll make you cry even if you’re not a father.
Reba McEntire took the rare step of responding to fake news after a story that she scolded Taylor Swift began going viral.
Willie Nelson will release his 75th album later this year. He also performed with Kermit The Frog.
After releasing one of the best songs of the year, Koe Wetzel is taking fans behind-the-scenes with a “making of” video for “Damn Near Normal.”

The only country music playlist you need

Final Thoughts

Where do we go from here? That is the most common thing I ask myself. I never thought I would make it to 36, let alone be a husband, father, and country music ‘content creator.’ If I knew such things were an option when driving show to show with an acoustic guitar in my high school car, shouting out-of-tune lyrics to emo songs at strangers, I might have tried to get here sooner. But something my wife keeps telling me that I found reinforced when listening to Deeper Well this weekend is that I need to learn to appreciate the past and all its blemishes. What happened before does not need to define me, but it’s okay to recognize how far you’ve come and take pride in that. Of course, it’s easier said than done, but I think it’s worth the effort.

Next week, we are headed to Saginaw to shoot some videos with Brantley Gilbert.