There’s irony, and then there’s Kacey Musgraves taking the ACM Awards stage for the first time ever to perform a song literally called“Dry Spell.”The seven-time ACM Award winner made her debut at the 2026 ceremony on Sunday night, and she went all-in on the cheeky double entendre, turning her performance into a full-on grocery store romp that was equal parts clever and deliberately suggestive.
The whole thing opened with Musgraves perched atop a washing machine—a direct callback to her“Dry Spell”music video—before she strutted over to a makeshift butcher’s counter to pick up sausages. If the setup wasn’t already layered with innuendo, the staging drove it home: cream and juice lined the shelves, melons and bananas sat front and center, and somewhere in aisle 69, you’d find eggplants and cucumbers. The whole production was basically a masterclass in tongue-in-cheek staging, and it landed exactly as intended.
The timing of this performance isn’t random. Earlier this month, Musgraves dropped her seventh studio album, Middle of Nowhere, a project that strips back to her country roots with plenty of pedal steel guitars and Texas swagger—her most country-leaning work in years. This release follows 2024’s Deeper Well, so she’s been keeping busy. To support the album, she’s hit the Coachella stage with a surprise set, taken the show to London, and just wrapped a three-night residency at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where she brought out fellow country queen Miranda Lambert for a duet on their new track“Horses and Divorces.”
It’s worth noting that despite the stellar performance, Musgraves isn’t up for any awards at this year’s ceremony. Middle of Nowhere dropped on May 1, which falls outside the eligibility window. Still, her presence at the ACM Awards—finally—signals her continued relevance in country music, especially as she returns to her sonic roots. The song choice, the staging, the sheer confidence of making her debut performance a comedy of errors? That’s Musgraves reminding everyone why she’s won seven ACM Awards over the years, including Album of the Year for 2018’s Golden Hour.
The performance also underscores a bigger moment in country music right now. Alongside Musgraves’appearance, the night featured performances from Ella Langley, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, Carter Faith, Parker McCollum, Lainey Wilson, and Riley Green—a lineup that captures country’s current energy. But Musgraves’cheeky, self-aware take on her“Dry Spell”felt like the night’s most fun moment: a reminder that great country music doesn’t have to take itself too seriously.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
