Kacey Musgraves Returns to Newly Revived Lost Highway Records In Full-Circle Moment

Her Saturn has returned—to the very place where she got her start. The storied country music label, Lost Highway Records, is officially relaunching with Kacey Musgraves as its first signed artist. Recently, the eight-time Grammy Award winner opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about why she never really left.

Kacey Musgraves Originally Signed With Lost Highway

Back in 2011, Kacey Musgraves fulfilled a lifelong dream. The native Texan became the final artist to sign with Lost Highway Records. Founded in 2000, the label was home to such legendary acts as Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, and Lyle Lovett.

Unfortunately, Lost Highway would fold into Mercury Nashville the very next year with the retirement of its founder, Luke Lewis. Now, with its revival under Interscope Records, Musgraves called returning to the place that launched her career as a modern-day country music renegade “a no-brainer.”

In celebration, she even released her own version of “Lost Highway.” The label gets its name from the 1949 Hank Williams classic.

However, don’t call it a comeback. “While some might think of it as a ‘return,’ I want to make it super clear that I never left,” Musgraves said. “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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In Her “Lost Highway” Era

After sticking mostly to country with her first two albums, Kacey Musgraves branched out into more dance and folk-inspired territory with 2018’s Golden Hour and 2021’s star-crossed. Last year’s Deeper Well saw her swing “back in toward my center.” That trajectory continues with her rendition of “Lost Highway.”

“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,” said the “High Horse” singer. “There has to be a balance between tradition and future.”

While she certainly strikes that balance on “Lost Highway,” it’s not necessarily indicative of what her first project under her old record label will sound like.

“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,” Musgraves said. “I’m not sure yet where it’s going to end up.”

Featured image by Erika Goldring/Getty Images