Pageant Material
Pageant Material digital artwork
Studio album by
Kacey Musgraves
ReleasedJune 23, 2015 (2015-06-23)
Recorded2014–2015
StudioRCA Studio A, Nashville
GenreNeotraditional country
Length46:23
LabelMercury Nashville
Producer
Kacey Musgraves chronology
Same Trailer Different Park
(2013) 		Pageant Material
(2015) 		A Very Kacey Christmas
(2016)
Singles from Pageant Material
  1. "Biscuits"
    Released: March 16, 2015
  2. "Dime Store Cowgirl"
    Released: August 3, 2015

Pageant Material is the second studio album by American country music artist Kacey Musgraves, released June 23, 2015, through Mercury Nashville.[1][2] Musgraves co-wrote all 13 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally.[3][4] The album made numerous "Best Albums of 2015" lists and was nominated for Best Country Album at the 58th Grammy Awards.[5][6]

Recording

Most of Pageant Material was recorded live in Nashville's historic RCA Studio A. In an interview with The Boot published May 21, 2015, Musgraves describes the recording process: "We recorded most everything in a big circle in one of my favorite old studios on the planet – historic RCA Studio A in Nashville. That lent itself to the record having that concise feel that we wanted. Then we added a 10-piece string section later."[7]

Promotion and packaging

Promotional appearances in the media to support the album included performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (June 9, 2015), Late Night with Seth Meyers (June 10, 2015), Good Morning America (June 23, 2015), The View (June 24, 2015), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (September 14, 2015), The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (January 8, 2016) and The Late Late Show with James Corden (April 6, 2016).[8][9][10][11] On June 26, 2015, Musgraves performed "Follow Your Arrow" for National Public Radio's Tiny Desk Concerts in support of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States, which took place on the same day.[12]

To further support the album, Musgraves embarked on the Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Revue concert tour. Described as a "throwback country" tour, dates on the first leg included locations across the United States and Europe. The first leg of the tour began on August 27, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia, and concluded on November 22, 2015, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The second leg of the tour, which spanned portions of the US, UK and Ireland began in Dallas, TX on January 21, 2016, and concluded in Columbia, MO, on April 30, 2016.

Musgraves' younger sister, Kelly Christine Sutton, is credited with the album cover's photograph and design.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[14]
Metacritic78/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
The A.V. ClubB+[17]
Billboard[18]
The Daily Telegraph[19]
The Guardian[20]
The Irish Times[21]
Nash Country WeeklyA[22]
Pitchfork8.0/10[23]
Rolling Stone[24]
Spin9/10[25]

Pageant Material received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 78 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 25 reviews.[15]

Writing for Hits Daily Double, Lenny Beer and Simon Glickman called Pageant Material an "album for the ages," comparing its greatness to Adele's 21, and added, "it's a nearly perfect set."[26] Glamour's Alexandra Schwartz called the album "nearly flawless" and listed it among the best albums of 2015.[27] Paul Grein of HITS Daily Double predicted the album would be in contention for Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[28] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars and states: "Pageant Material favors softness, sometimes nearly swooning in its slowness, especially on the gorgeous keynote "High Time" and the closer "Fine," both so deliberate and hazy they evoke memories of lazy high-school dances."[16] Billboard's Rob Tannenbaum's four and a half stars out of five review claimed it is "an even better album than her last, with more consistency and variety."[18] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday rated the album an "A", calling it "great stories told extraordinarily well," and "nothing short of a musical miracle" in today's country music climate.[29] Additionally, it was the Spin "album of the week" and called a "sophomore masterpiece" by reviewer Brennan Carley.[25]

Accolades

Year Association Category Result
2015 CMA Awards[30] Album of the Year Nominated
2016 Grammy Awards[6] Best Country Album Nominated
UK Americana Awards[31] International Album of the Year
Publication Rank List
AllMusic N/A Best Country Albums of 2015[32]
American Songwriter 16 Top 50 Albums of 2015[33]
Americana Music Association 7 Top 100 Albums of 2015[34]
Cosmopolitan 11 The 15 Best Albums of 2015[35]
Glamour N/A The Best Albums of 2015[27]
The Guardian 1 The 10 Best Country Albums of 2015[36]
Nashville Scene 4 Best Country Albums of 2015[37]
Noisey 50 The 50 Best Albums of 2015[38]
NPR N/A 50 Favorite Albums of 2015[39]
Paste 27 The 50 Best Albums of 2015[40]
PopMatters 12 The 80 Best Albums of 2015[41]
3 The Best Country Music of 2015[42]
Pretty Much Amazing 46 Best 50 Albums of 2015[43]
Rolling Stone 14 40 Best Country Albums of 2015[44]
Spin 8 The 50 Best Albums of 2015[45]
Sputnikmusic 45 Top 50 Albums of 2015[46]
Time 6 Top 10 Best Albums of 2015[47]
Time Out New York 15 The 25 Best Albums of 2015[48]
Variance 18 The 50 Best Albums of 2015[49]

Commercial performance

Pageant Material debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart with 60,000 equivalent album units; it sold 55,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit total reflecting the album's streaming activity and track sales. It marked Musgraves' best week of album sales to date.[50] As of September 2016, the album has sold 179,400 copies in the US.[51]

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, and Kacey Musgraves.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."High Time"
  • Musgraves
  • Laird
  • McAnally
2:57
2."Dime Store Cowgirl"
  • Musgraves
  • Laird
  • McAnally
3:35
3."Late to the Party"
3:38
4."Pageant Material"
  • Musgraves
  • Laird
  • McAnally
3:56
5."This Town"
  • Musgraves
  • Laird
  • Clark
2:57
6."Biscuits"
  • Musgraves
  • McAnally
  • Clark
3:18
7."Somebody to Love"
  • Musgraves
  • McAnally
  • Osborne
3:15
8."Miserable"
  • Musgraves
  • Osborne
  • Clark
3:00
9."Die Fun"
  • Musgraves
  • Laird
  • McAnally
3:29
10."Family Is Family"
  • Musgraves
  • McAnally
  • Osborne
2:34
11."Good Ol' Boys Club"
3:18
12."Cup of Tea"
  • Musgraves
  • McAnally
  • Osborne
2:42
13."Fine"
3:55
14."Are You Sure" (featuring Willie Nelson) (hidden track)
3:56
Total length:46:23

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic[52] and liner notes.[53]

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States June 23, 2015
  • CD
  • digital download
  • vinyl
 Mercury Nashville [65]

References

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  2. ^ McKenna, Brittney (May 12, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves Announces 'Pageant Material'". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  3. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (May 12, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves Presents 'Pageant Material' June 23". MusicRow. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (May 12, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves Announces New Album 'Pageant Material'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. ^ "Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material". Album of the Year. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Cadden, Mary (February 16, 2016). "List: Who won what at the 58th annual Grammys". USA Today. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  7. ^ Allers, Hannahlee (May 21, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves Reveals 'Pageant Material' Influences". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  8. ^ Cantor, Brian (June 3, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves is scheduled to visit "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers."". Headline Planet. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
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  11. ^ Cantor, Brian (April 7, 2016). "Kacey Musgraves Performs "High Time" On James Corden's "Late Late Show"". Headline Planet. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Thompson, Stephen (June 26, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves Sings One For Marriage Equality". National Public Radio. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  13. ^ Vain, Madison (May 14, 2015). "Kacey Musgraves reveals the classic influences of her hugely anticipated new album". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  14. ^ "Pageant Material by Kacey Musgraves reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
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  48. ^ Time Out New York Staff (December 10, 2015). "The 25 Best Albums of 2015". Time Out New York. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  49. ^ Variance Staff (December 4, 2015). "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Variance. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
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  51. ^ Bjorke, Matt (September 19, 2016). "Country Album Sales Chart: September 19, 2016". Roughstock.
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