Lucchese hosted a private listening party Saturday, April 18, to celebrate Grammy-winning country artist and fellow Texan, Kacey Musgraves’ highly anticipated sophomore album releasing later this year from Mercury Records Nashville.

More than 100 guests attended the event at a private Dallas residence on the eve of the American Country Music Awards, also held in Dallas. Before Kacey arrived, guests mingled among displays of Lucchese boots and hay bales covered in southwestern blankets – a look similar to Kacey’s on-stage decor.

Kacey, resplendent in a lemon yellow, lace mini-dress complete with tan, hand-tooled and filigreed Lucchese boots, welcomed the crowd and thanked Lucchese for hosting the event. During her introduction, the blue sky suddenly turned dark as a storm approached.

“I’m not sure what’s happening, but that looks like the apocalypse or something,” Kacey joked.

The weather proved to be no laughing matter. Soon area tornado sirens blared, sending the party inside to escape sheets of rain blanketing the lawn. It’s not unusual for the weather to change quickly in Texas, but this unanticipated turn of events added an extra bang!

Thanks to some strong cowboys who quickly reassembled the sound equipment, the festivities resumed indoors and once again, Kacey took the floor. She personally introduced the songs with her own “behind the music” stories about what inspired the lyrics and what each song meant to her. She then stood back to let the crowd listen and enjoy the melodic results of her songwriting. The weather may have changed the venue, but it didn’t dampen the crowd’s excitement.

A total of six sample tracks from the soon-to-be-released album played over the course of the night. Each had the audience swaying together with Kacey leading the way. Her fun attitude and enthusiasm for the album showed as she sang along and tapped her boots to the tunes. With each personal introduction peppered with small town tales of her upbringing in Golden, Texas, she brought the listening guests into her world.

Kacey concluded the sneak peek with her catchy and smart single “Biscuits,” which released to rave reviews earlier this spring. When introducing this final song, Kacey shared that the band used an actual biscuit pan as one of the drums for the recording.

As the final notes played, Kacey entered the crowd and do-si-do’d with a few listeners, including Lucchese President Doug Kindy. Kacey also shared a few additional twirls and high-fives with Lucchese Chairman and fellow small town Texas native, John Muse. Luckily, the rain moved on without further incident and everyone enjoyed the music, which wrapped to thunderous applause.