‘The First Time’ With Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves appears on the March cover of Rolling Stone, and in addition to her featured profile, the country-pop star sat down to answer questions about her first singing competition, her first expensive purchase, and more on The First Time.

Musgraves has often spoken about her love for Willie Nelson, but she revealed that she was quite speechless the first time she met her hero. “I was also really high so that probably had something to do with it,” she said.

Later, she talked about the emotional experience of hearing her first song on the radio. Her sister, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Musgraves’ car, filmed the moment; Musgraves cried when she first heard “Merry-Go-Round” playing out of her speakers.

“That was a completely foreign thing to me,” she said. “I don’t think people realize how much work it takes for you to hear your song on the radio. It takes years of work and grinding your bones and traveling, and missing your family and missing your grandma’s birthday party. You have to sacrifice a lot, but in that moment when you hear your song for the first time, it’s unbelievable. It’s so emotional, and it was very special.”