Award-winning singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves is returning to her musical roots in more ways than one. The country-pop crossover has inked a deal with Lost Highway Records, the newly-relaunched label previously home to Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Hayes Carll, Drive-By Truckers, Mary Gauthier, and more.
Lost Highway Records was also the label that offered Musgraves her first record deal in 2011 and was their final artist to be signed before being absorbed by Mercury Nashville. At the time, Musgraves was in the midst of creating her debut record Same Trailer, Different Park, which went on to earn widespread critical acclaim.
“Lost Highway was always a musical stable for artists who might be considered outliers or outlaws; those who live on the fringe,” Musgraves shares in a statement. “In 2011, when other record labels questioned my songwriting and my more traditional country sound, Lost Highway believed in me, signing me to my first label deal and helped me take my music around the world. That journey has now come full circle in such a special way with John Janick and Interscope and I’m deeply honored to be able to once again call Lost Highway my musical home.”
In the years since the arrival of her debut LP, Musgraves has gone on to release a total of six studio albums, including her 2018 crossover hit Golden Hour and the pop-centered Star-Crossed in 2021. Her most recent album, 2024’s Deeper Well, offered a sonic shift toward the old-school country sound of her earlier works.
To help mark the importance of her return to Lost Highway, Musgraves has also shared a new cover of the song from which the respected label took its name. Written by Leon Payne and made famous by Hank Williams, the country classic “Lost Highway” is transformed into a fresh, psychedelically-tinged tune that feels authentic to the Texas native’s already impressive songbook
The cover, which Musgraves co-produced with longtime creative collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, arrives as the talented 36-year-old continues work on her next full-length project.
“I’ve written a ton of songs already,” she revealed in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “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’m not sure yet where it’s going to end up.”
Watch the official visualizer for “Lost Highway” below:
