Kacey Musgraves at the Royal Albert Hall

Kacey Musgraves
Sugar & The Hi Lows
Royal Albert Hall, 18 November 2015

"This is the fanciest place I've ever been to," Kacey Musgraves tells the crowd tonight, "how did they let me in?" Funnily enough, although she's the first country artist to sell out the Royal Albert Hall in 12 years, she and her band, resplendent in their matching light-up suits, seem a natural fit to the grand surroundings. It's easy to compare Musgraves to Taylor Swift but whereas Swift was obviously reared on Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire, Kacey was obviously listening to Bobbie Gentry, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, mixing their small-town country wisdom and Vegas glamour with a more modern slant. Musgraves afterall name-checks Gram Parsons and duets with Willie Nelson on her latest record and, despite wearing a Katy Perry-esque sparkly leotard with her cowgirl hat and boots, I just can't imagine her deserting her country-roots for pop stardom the way Swift has.

Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi at Bush Hall

Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi
Vikesh Kapoor
Bush Hall, 11 November 2015

There’s not much doubt that Vikesh Kapoor is a huge Bob Dylan fan. When he walks onstage he is dressed in an outfit that could have been hanging in the legend’s wardrobe back in 1965: short brown suede jacket, drainpipe jeans and pointy Beatle boots, and on top of that there’s the curly hair standing tall on top of his head and the way he carries his acoustic guitar up high. From behind he might well be mistaken for youthful Dylan. Musically, it’s not quite as obvious, although he’s an acoustic storyteller, he reminds me more of the mournful sounds of A.A. Bondy or even Ryan Adams at his most sparse.

Ex Hex at Scala

Ex Hex

Jacuzzi Boys

The Wharves

Scala, 2 November 2015

On the stairs of the venue before the show I saw Mary Timony, alone and heading for the doors. I wanted to shout out "Mary, I love you!" or just get her autograph, but sadly I timidly shuffled past, head down thinking "Don't bother her!" and "Never meet your heroes!" In some ways Timony looked like just another woman at the show but she also radiated a certain unattainable cool and maybe it's for the best that I didn't break that spell. Certainly, on stage she's a guitar goddess, effortless and fun, a total rock star, in fact, let's face it, Mary Timony couldn't be cooler.