Kacey Musgraves Shows Off Superstar Status At Philly Area Show: Review

PHILADELPHIA — When Shania Twain turned the country genre on its head with her massive, best-selling album "Come On Over" in 1997, it paved the way for female artists to rise to superstardom.

Sure, there was the late Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Tammy Wynette — but they stuck to standards that could be played on stage at the Grand Ole Opry.

Twain churned out so many country pop hits that her popularity soared so high that she was selling out Madison Square Garden.

Fast forward nearly 30 years and country superstar Kacey Musgraves is doing the same thing.

Musgraves — fresh off two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City — brought her "Middle of Nowhere" tour to the XMO Friday night in Philadelphia.

The 38-year-old singer, though, has made it big sticking to her country routes while Twain and later Taylor Swift crossed over to the pop charts.

Musgraves has tried that but returns more to her country foundation on her "Middle of Nowhere" album, where twangy guitar stands out along with her catchy melodies and introspective lyrics.

On record, Musgraves' voice is sweet, and her songs often reflect on relationships and other matters of the heart.

In concert, she's a showstopper.

Coming out in a blaze of glory to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" with the stage showing a countdown clock and firing off fireworks, Musgraves appeared in a nearby staging area kicking off the show to the sold-out crowd's delight.

Musgraves spotlighted 10 songs from her "Middle of Nowhere" album and five songs from her Grammy-award winning "Golden Hour" album — with the crowd singing along to every song.

Her professionalism and sweet grace showed throughout the show. Musgraves even egged on the crowd to rival New York and offered a snippet of the Philadelphia 76ers theme song.

Her stage was perfect to give the crowd a taste of Texas.

The stage moved like her song "Merry Go Round," allowing everyone to catch a glimpse of Musgraves, who was decked out in a black rhinestone suit and a black hat.

She even walked off the stage and high-fived fans as she walked on hay.

Musgraves performed songs from her new album that were dedicated to her Texas roots with "Middle of Nowhere," "Abilene," and "Uncertain TX."

She sprinkled in other well-known songs like "Justified," "Butterflies," "Slow Burn," and "Space Cowboy" too.

But some of her latest creations — "Dry Spell" and "Mexico Honey" show how Musgraves can really craft fine songs that stick to her country roots yet are blended with pop perfection.

It's amazing that she has yet to crack the Billboard Top 40 yet, just like Twain and Swift have.

For now, Musgraves will keep raising her profile.

While she didn't dedicate any songs to the late great Dolly Parton as in previous recent shows, Musgraves did end her show with a classic country song that was an ode to the Lone Star state.

"All My Ex's Live in Texas" was the perfect ending to a perfect showcase for Musgraves, who may just find her place one day in country music history as an artist who can go toe-to-toe with Twain and company.