Between the upheaval of divorce and the pandemic, plus just the good ole fun of being in your 30s, country music artist Kacey Musgraves has done a lot of self-reflection and growing up this decade. She’s shaken off the wake-and-bake habit, downsized to a cottage in the woods, and throughout it all, made music. Her latest album Middle of Nowhere just came out last Friday, and it’s very much the fruits of her emotional labor these past few years. As the title suggests, Kacey has said this album was about embracing uncertainty, the in-between moments where you don’t know where you’re going. So naturally, it made total sense for Kacey to promote the release by shooting a TikTok video of her going to stores to buy the album… while dressed up as an armadillo. So she’d be undercover. (And not just literally from the animal’s famed armor.)

In the clip, Musgraves first walks into Walmart, looks at the greeting cards and rolls down an aisle before asking a store clerk, “Excuse me. Do you guys have the new Kacey Musgraves album?”

The staffer responded, “I don’t recognize that name.”

Musgraves found a large display featuring the album on multiple shelves and picked up several copies.

Next, she went to Barnes & Noble. After walking through the children’s area, reading a book about armadillos and crawling around, she found Middle of Nowhere in the music section and picked up a vinyl copy.

Finally, Musgraves went to Target and danced alongside a display featuring the album and related merchandise. The video concluded with her lying on her back with her arms and legs in the air.

Middle of Nowhere was released on Friday, May 1. The album features collaborations with Gregory Alan Isakov, Billy Strings, Miranda Lambert and Willie Nelson.

“The bulk of this record was made during the longest single period of my life,” said Musgraves in a statement about the album, “and I found that for the first time, it actually felt incredible being alone and existing in a space not defined by anyone else.”

She continued, “I became fascinated with the concept of liminal space, both geographical and emotional. We don’t linger in these transitional, empty spaces long enough and rush to define where or whatever is next. I became so at ease with being in the ‘middle of nowhere’ in many senses and sitting in the un-comfort of the undefined.”

“Middle of Nowhere” is a place as much as it is a state of mind. I had a lot of time for creative ambling and leaning into my roots in different ways; horses, humor, writing with my early collaborators again, and living out my very simple, inspired life between Texas, Tennessee and Mexico,” concluded Musgraves’ statement.

[From People]

Y’all, Kacey is a certified weirdo! (Complimentary.) I applaud anyone who appreciates the math of Human + Armadillo Costume = Incognito. (Not to mention any adult who can do smooth forward rolls like that in costume. Or, just, at all.) And hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to stay afloat in this economy, even if it means dressing up as Dasypus novemcinctus. After all, it worked, didn’t it? We’re talking about Kacey. I admit, though I’d heard her name before, my first real introduction to Kacey Musgraves was as Pepper’s Person. Specifically, that time a couple years ago when Pepper was a shero and took a rattlesnake bite for her barefoot Mama. Dogs are the best, forever and always. But clearly I should be listening to Kacey’s songs more, because I sure do enjoy the glimpses I’ve seen of her so far. She’s proud of her country roots but unapologetically progressive. Case in point: at a recent performance held at storied Texas venue Gruene Hall, Kacey invited mariachi brothers Antonio, Caleb, and Joshua Gámez-Cuéllar to open for her. Earlier this year, the Gámez-Cuéllar family was in ICE facilities, until Texas politicians intervened to get them released.

Also, I’m finding that I gel with Kacey’s sense of humor. Check out the music video for her new single “Dry Spell,” where apparently the assignment was, “Grocery store, but make it horny.”

Kacey Musgraves dressed as an armadillo asking a store employee if they have her new album in stock:

“I don’t recognize that name.” pic.twitter.com/0dPNPWsnf9

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 3, 2026

Kacey Musgraves Goes Undercover as an Armadillo to Buy Her New Album — and the Store Clerk Doesn't Know Who She Is https://t.co/w6NmDJYhxP

— People (@people) May 5, 2026

imagine ur talking shii abt me and im just at home being an armadillo pic.twitter.com/dyycJqn9GS

— K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) October 31, 2024

Photos credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages, Mattpapz/Backgrid