Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF.

OAKLAND — Toward the end of Saturday’s concert at Oakland Arena, as Kacey Musgraves was introducing oldie “Merry Go ‘Round” as a song that her label resisted releasing as her debut single in 2012, she mentioned that disagreements with her label aren’t an uncommon occurrence.

“TBH, they didn’t like Golden Hour very much,” she said, wryly. The 2018 album saw Musgraves start to move beyond country and embrace dance music. As Musgraves pointed out, the album did just fine. But what would her label think of its follow-up, the bitter divorce dramedy (or telenovela), star-crossed?

“We’re gonna have so much fun tonight,” Musgraves said earlier in the show. “Even though this album was so depressing it should have come with a trigger warning.”

Star-Crossed is a devastating work, laying Musgraves’ heart bare in often uncomfortable ways. It also isn’t much of a country album. But for any traditionalists Musgraves may have lost over the past few years, she’s more than backfilled with LGBTQ+ fans. Her current arena track is putting her in front of larger audiences than ever. Oakland Arena was packed to the gills.

“Loving the look, the feel, the sparkles, the glitter,” she said during an earlier break between songs. “The sex appeal. … Hello [man in a] lavender suit. Love that energy. … I can tell you guys are looking to get turnt tonight.”

But would Kacey Musgraves be able to take such heavy themes and turn them into an entertaining arena spectacle? She could, and did, swimmingly. The understated performance blended with dramatic and theatrical flourishes from the beginning to the end to create an overall production that allowed her to have fun while unloading the weight off her shoulders.

The show began with a giant red and gold curtain (hung under a golden arch and Roman-style pillars) parting to unveil a tall burning heart behind Musgraves. This didn’t appear to be a video projection but an actual burning heart. The stage itself was narrow, except for a heart-shaped extension projecting into the first few rows. Musgraves would spend most of the show within that heart, but sometimes walking into the wings.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

To set the scene, the arena speakers played “When Doves Cry.” Not the Prince version, but the version from the soundtrack to Leo DiCaprio’s and Claire Dane’s “Romeo & Juliet.” Star-crossed lovers, get it? It was one of many touches that just made sense. Anyway… the heart-shaped stage projected a heart, which loudly cracked, and Musgraves and her seven member band were off and running with the title track to the new album. The Spanish guitar strains of the songs that were effective at starting the album were also effective at starting the show.

The majority of the set consisted of material from star-crossed and Golden Hour. The title track transitioned into the wistfully bittersweet “Good Wife” and “Cherry Blossom.” The pace began to pick up on the latter track, punctuated by pinging piano keys and then a shower of pink, red and white confetti.

“Breadwinner” proved to be a crowd favorite. The ’70s-style disco number with a funky breakdown incited one of several singalongs.

“Your job is to sing so loudly that your ex hears you,” Musgraves demanded.

Like her last two albums, the concert wasn’t heavy on the country, per se, but two noticeable tunes that retained Musgraves’ country heart included “Golden Hour,” with its pedal steel guitar; and “Butterflies,” with its twangy banjo inflections.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

The color schemes of the entire production were superb. There were washes of pastels or sunset pinks, oranges and purples; poignant and not overdone lasers and realistic projections on the video screens and on the heart-shaped stage. A camera mounted in the rafters would sometimes look down on Musgraves, creating unique angles. At times, it felt like being inside a lava lamp.

Another highlight included powerful ballad, “Space Cowboy,” for which the production team spun the mirrorball.

“You can have your space, cowboy,” Musgraves sang on the Golden Hour tune, which fit in perfectly with the newer material. Then, for “High Horse,” she took off her heels and tossed them to the side to move around more freely to the upbeat song.

“You guys, the single world is fucking insane, OK?” Musgraves said before sitting down to sing “Hookup Scene” while two or three guitarists gathered around her on the heart stage and played acoustically. “I dipped in for just a minute, and there’s some freaks out there.”

Then she was all of a sudden alone on stage to sing and play “Merry Go ‘Round” by herself (not counting the thousands of voices joining her). There was a live karaoke cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” with the lyrics showing on the screens. Here was the show’s one misstep: She has been featuring a three-song rotation of covers, and one of them was Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” But it wasn’t Musgraves’ fault she skipped the under appreciated (in the Bay Area) classic for the overplayed “Dreams.” She had a fan choose the song, and Mr. Lavender Suit chose wrong.

Following “Justified,” the most rock moment of the night, “There Is a Light” featured a flute solo by one of the band members and a funky freakout during a kaleidoscopic confetti shower. The main set concluded with a cover of Violeta Parra’s dramatic Spanish-language song “Gracias a la vida,” accompanied by an acoustic guitarist.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

There was an encore, but it was the way Musgraves wrapped up the cover that’s still sticking with me. After throwing a bouquet of roses into the crowd, she returned toward the large video screen, which was projecting images of burning candles or lanterns. The video screen then parted to reveal a small staircase flanked by dozens of actual burning candles. Musgraves climbed the staircase, turned to face the crowd, and then took a backward leap off the staircase.

Kacey Musgraves was preceded by two terrific opening acts.

SoCal trio MUNA went first, accompanied by a drummer and bassist.

MUNA peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Lead vocalist Katie Gavin went all out on opener “Number One Fan,” emphatically high-kicking the air. She, Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson showcased their beautiful harmonizing (and Gavin’s full-throated singing) on “Stayaway.”

MUNA also performed “Kind of Girl,” a folky country-esque ballad that will be on the band’s next album, before concluding with the empowering “I Know a Place” and latest single “Silk Chiffon,” while a person in a full length skirt, pink cape and pink cowboy hat spastically moved around on stage.

King Princess went next with a slightly longer set. Backed by a four-member band, singer-songwriter Mikaela Mullaney Straus used their set to introduce some new material from a forthcoming album, as well as touch on existing fan favorites. King Princess burned through uptempo rocker, “Little Brother,” singing in a slightly gravelly timbre.

King Princess peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

The keyboard-led “For My Friends” (one of the new tracks) was both moody and beat-heavy, while “House Burn Down” was danceable. During “Talia,” Straus lied on their stomach at the lip of the stage, singing directly to fans. The second half of the set included the melodically sweet “Ain’t Together,” indie hit “1950” and new song “Let Us Die,” which offered up a ’90s-esque quiet-loud-quiet buildup.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Kacey Musgraves performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

King Princess peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

King Princess peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

King Princess peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

King Princess peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

MUNA peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

MUNA peforms at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2022.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter. Follow photographer Onome Uyovbievbo at Twitter.com/byonome and Instagram.com/by.onome.