Kacey Musgraves is no longer in her “wake and bake” era — but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t smoke weed from time to time.
“I never said I don’t ever partake,” Musgraves, 36, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Wednesday, April 30, referring to reports that suggested she’d quit smoking marijuana.
The country singer explained: “I just don’t wake up and hit a gravity bong the size of my face anymore, which is what I did for a long time. But, hey, more power to whatever suits you.”
After releasing her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, in 2013, Musgraves’ love of smoking pot became common knowledge.
In “Follow Your Arrow,” off that album, Musgraves sings, “So make lots of noise (hey) / Kiss lots of boys (yup) / Or kiss lots of girls, if that’s what you’re into / When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight / Roll up a joint, I would / And follow your arrow wherever it points.”
The Grammy winner revealed in March 2024 that the joint she smoked with the legendary Willie Nelson is now framed in her house. “It’s on a shelf,” Musgraves told Howard Stern at the time. “He twisted one up for us. … So, we all smoked half of that with him. We kinda put it out. I’m like, ‘I’m saving that.’”
“I’ve smoked with Willie a lot. We were on tour together,” she gushed. “He’s very generous with his stash.”
Despite being open about her drug use, Musgraves hinted that she had put most of it behind her when she released 2024’s “Deeper Well.”
“I used to wake and bake / Roll out of bed, hit the gravity bong that I made / And start the day / For a while, it got me by,” she sings in the track. “Everything I did seemed better when I was high / I don’t know why.”
Musgraves later revealed in the lyrics, “I’m getting rid of the habits that I feel are real good at wasting my time.”
The musician confirmed during The Howard Stern Show in March 2024 that her stoner days tapered off.
“I used to be the biggest pothead in the world,” Musgraves confessed. “I think, I don’t know, as I got older and busier it stopped doing the fun thing and started doing the bad things to me. It kinda made me anxious.”
As Musgraves entered a new phase without weed, she has also pivoted in her music career. She confirmed to THR on Wednesday that she is the first artist on the newly-launched Lost Highway Records, which is where she got her start in 2011.
Musgraves recorded her own version of “Lost Highway” to celebrate, putting a twist on Hank Williams’ 1949 classic song, which is also the label’s namesake. The switch in representation is the beginning of new music for Musgraves as well.
“I’ve written a ton of songs already,” she told the outlet. “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.”
Musgraves teased, “I’ve been feeling really good playing around with some more — I want to say ‘traditional’ — but at the same time, there always has to be a modern edge there in some way. There has to be a balance between tradition and future.”
