I’ve been a concert photographer for quite a while now. I love what I do, but I haven’t gone to a show to just be at a show since One Direction played in Cleveland.

It’s been that long.

I recently got the opportunity to go see Kacey Musgraves Star-Crossed: Unveiled tour just for fun, and I found myself actually really enjoying myself. A big part of the reason I have so much fun as a concert photographer is being able to take photos and then being able to sit back and observe some of the artists I admire do their thing. So I thought taking one element out of the equation would make my experience less fun.

Boy, could I have not been happier to be wrong.

The whole experience felt like going to a movie and I imagine going out with friends to explore what the nightlife has to offer. I wouldn’t really know, I rarely go out to experience nightlife, but I have friends who do.

MUNA opened up the night with a killer set and was full of a lot more energy than me at 8 pm on a Sunday night in 10-degree weather. While I haven’t been a fan of MUNA for long I have a feeling that they’ll be blowing up even more than Silk Chiffon. King Princess brought the energy up a notch playing songs from their upcoming album, as well as favorites like Talia and 1950.

It was the first time I’ve listened to 1950 without crying and if you know why then you know.

And then there was Kacey. Now, I went into this show knowing a few Kacey Musgraves songs, and by a few, I mean like 6 or 7 I didn’t realize I knew that were by her. As soon as the opening notes of star-crossed echoed through the arena I felt the hair on my arms start to stand up and chills run through my body which didn’t stop until an hour and a half later when Kacey exited the stage.

This probably has been the most highly produced and intricate show I’ve ever witnessed. The number of intricate details that go into a show like this was insane and I truly applaud everyone who worked on it because it was a work of art.

Even though it was an arena show with the full works, it still felt incredibly intimate as the energy we received from Kacey was returned tenfold by the crowd. It was most prevalent during the song Merry Go ‘Round, which was Musgraves’ debut single.

Watching this crowd of people sing songs was an experience even I could join in on. Really, we did Kacey-oke (which was arena karaoke) to Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. Shoutout to the random pit member who picked a banger for us.

All in all, I had a really good time and then spent the next day listening to Musgraves' entire discography. I hope the next time I see any of the artists it’ll be from behind the camera but I’d gladly see them again regardless.