Kacey Musgraves Shoots Album Cover With Bull on Dallas Street Amid Permit Drama

Kacey Musgraves is getting candid about what it means to be alone and to no longer be. The eight-time GRAMMY winner will release her sixth studio album, Middle of Nowhere, on May 1 via Lost Highway Records. The project is prefaced by lead single "Dry Spell," a humorous, twangy track that addresses Musgraves' 335-day period of abstinence through a string of clever euphemisms.

In a new interview, the 37-year-old reflected on the insights that shaped the album and the self-examination that came with an extended stretch of single life.

"It's nice just to be able to stop the tape and kind of evaluate, like, 'Okay, why do I make these choices? How am I drawn to certain archetypes of people? What does that say about me?'" she continued. "Now, I realize that there's nothing more lonely than being in a relationship that isn't right for you. It's way more lonely than being actually just by yourself."

She also hinted that her reflective season may be giving way to something new.

"The dry spell was broken, I'll just say that," she joked. "The dry spell is broken, I've got everything I need!"

The album cover was shot in Dallas by Musgraves' sister, photographer Kelly Sutton. For the shoot, Musgraves arranged for a friend to bring a bull from his ranch, one that turned out to be an unexpectedly easygoing co-star.

"I called my friend Evan, I was like, 'Do you have any bulls that you could bring?' And he was like, 'Yeah, actually, I've got a really sweet one. His name is Tex,'" she remembered. "And at one point, like, the police come over. They're like, 'Do you guys have a permit for this?' And we're like, 'No?' And they were like, 'All right.'"

Middle of Nowhere also features collaborations with Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings, and Gregory Alan Isakov. The album marks Musgraves' return to Lost Highway Records, the roots-leaning imprint that originally signed her. It follows her 2024 release Deeper Well, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and included "The Architect," which won the GRAMMY for best country song in 2025.