Throwback Thursday: Kacey Musgraves & Trent Dabbs, ‘Undermine’

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly series showcasing an album, single, music video or performance of a bygone era and its personal and/or cultural significance.

I fell in love with Kacey Musgraves just over six years ago. Ahead of the second episode of the now-canceled soapy drama Nashville, which first aired on ABC and later via CMT, the juggernaut songwriter issued an Instagram-approved, sepia-toned acoustic performance of her song “Undermine,” alongside songwriter Trent Dabbs. The tinny echo of the guitar slides through the heaving sighs of crickets and the night’s impending descent, wrapping around Musgraves’ fearless vocal.

Despite Hayden Panettiere (Juliette Barnes) and Charles Esten’s (Deacon Claybourne) charming and moving performance, “Undermine” operates best under the stripped glow of a lonesome guitar crying out in the dark for its own agent of relief. That’s where Musgraves and Dabbs’ give and take rumbles from the ground aching skyward, tearing each emotion limb from limb. “Sometimes good intentions don’t come across so well / Get me analyzing everything that aint’ worth thinking ’bout,” Musgraves confronts right from the outset, bitterness stapled to her backbone as she crawls from the abyss of a toxic relationship. “Just cause I ain’t lived through the same hand that was dealt to you / Doesn’t make me any less…or make any more of you.”

October 15, 2012 will forever live on as the day country music changed forever. Then a naive 20-something, I recall what this performance made me feel, that I was in control of both my best and worst days and no one could take that away from me. The second verse stings under my skin even now. “First mile is always harder when you’re leaving what you know / Won’t blame you if you stay here, waving to me as I go,” sings Musgraves, nailing the story to the ground, as Dabbs flutters around her in tight harmony that is caked in an emotionally-grueling crust. “Always wished the best for you / Thought that you would see me through my wildest dreams.”

With “Merry Go ‘Round,” the lead single to 2013’s Same Trailer, Different Park, shipped to radio a month prior to the video, the stars were clearly aligning right then and there. Six years later, and Musgraves hasn’t slowed down one bit. In fact, she’s just getting started, as she continues proving terrestrial radio no longer a crucial ingredient in forging a prolific legacy. Musgraves is truly basking in the stunning shimmer of her Golden Hour in this moment. From a deceivingly shy upstart with a sharp voice and an even sharper pen, she is a culmination of all the natural elements of earth, air, fire and water. An endless force.

Thank you, Kacey, for the ride…so far.

Watch below:

Photo Credit: Kelly Christine Musgraves

Follow B-Sides & Badlands on our socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram