Kacey Musgraves is going back to her roots as she signs with Lost Highway Records, the relaunched label that first signed her at the beginning of her career. In celebration of the latest move, the singer-songwriter, 36, also released a cover of Williams’ “Lost Highway.”
Some fans speculated that the latest cover could be a hint to Musgraves’ return to country music, but she clarified in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on April 30 that she never left the genre.
“While some might think of it as a ‘return,’ I want to make it super clear that I never left,” the “Rainbow” singer explained. “It’s always been a home base, and it’s truly where I’m sonically the most happy. But since the beginning, I’ve always had an exploratory foot out the door a little bit, allowing myself to infuse all these other genres that speak to me.”
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According to Rolling Stone, Musgraves signed with Lost Highway Records back in 2011. However the label folded a year later and she went on to work with Mercury Nashville, who were behind the release of her first three albums.
The “Follow Your Arrow” singer called the return to the label “a no-brainer” and an “emotional” decision for her as well.
She added “It made me very emotional, because it brought back so many memories and an aerial view of looking at all I’ve gotten to do, all the wonderful people I’ve gotten to meet, and the songs that have come out of that.”
So what’s next for Musgraves? She called this upcoming era “a true passion project for me” and that “it really feels good to wholeheartedly embrace” the country sound.
“In this world where there are so many varying degrees of genre, to have a home for artists who are left of center is necessary,” she mused. “I love being in a period of time where I’m not rushed by a deadline and have the space to mosey and poke around.”
“I’ve been feeling really good playing around with some more — I want to say ‘traditional’ — but at the same time, there always has to be a modern edge there in some way,” she continued. “There has to be a balance between tradition and future.”
Related: Kacey Musgraves Shares Terrifying Moment During Music Video Shoot in Iceland
