Kacey Musgraves surprised everyone with a whole second album, and it's sung partly in Spanish
With her 'Middle of Nowhere' tour still running, Musgraves quietly announced a 16-track companion record rooted in Tex-Mex tradition, and dropped two songs at midnight to prove she's serious.
In brief
Kacey Musgraves surprised everyone with a whole second album, and it's sung partly in Spanish
Nobody sent a memo. No months-long rollout, no cryptic countdown clock, no label-approved press cycle. On Wednesday night, while her North American tour was still in its final week, Kacey Musgraves dropped news of an entirely separate 16-track album, and then, just after midnight Thursday, made good on it with two new songs.
The record is called Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes. Musgraves announced Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes, a companion album to Middle of Nowhere featuring four songs performed in Spanish, set for release on January 15, 2027. The collection furthers the first LP's exploration of the musical and cultural ties between Texas and Mexico, with 11 original songs, five covers, and four tracks sung entirely in Spanish.
The two songs she put out at midnight are the ones to start with. The first two samplings from Vol. 2, "Weekend In Texas" and her rendition of the Norteño classic "Mi Tesoro," dropped at midnight Friday (Oct. 23). According to Consequence, "Mi Tesoro" is a patient, gorgeous rendition of the Norteño classic, with Musgraves' voice smothered in reverb and a nostalgic glow hanging over the track.
The rest of the tracklist reads like a document of real Texas obsessions. The new set includes a recently released Spanish-language version of "Uncertain, TX" featuring Mexican group Intocable, plus "Tú Solo Tú," recorded live in Mexico City with Mariachi Oro De América, a cover of George Strait's "All My Exes Live in Texas" with some signature Musgraves flair, and a rendition of Freddy Fender's "Before the Next Teardrop Falls." She's calling that one "All My Exes (Kacey's Version)", which, yes, is the kind of cheeky move her fans have come to expect.
The inclusion of four Spanish-language performances is especially significant. Rather than treating the influence of Mexican music as an occasional instrumental flourish, Musgraves is incorporating its language and repertoire directly into the recordings. That Eric Alper notes that one of the album's most intriguing collaborations is a newly recorded Spanish-language version of "Uncertain, TX" featuring Intocable, the influential Norteño and Tejano group, the original recording, featuring Willie Nelson, became a Texas radio favourite and reached No. 1 on the state's radio chart.
The broader context here matters. Middle of Nowhere is Musgraves' seventh studio album, released on May 1, 2026, through Lost Highway Records. In April 2025, she signed with the relaunched Lost Highway Records as the label's first signee following Interscope Records's announcement of its revival. That return to the imprint where she started, Musgraves originally signed to Lost Highway in 2011 as its final artist signing, before the label was folded into Mercury Nashville a year later, already made Middle of Nowhere a story about reclaiming creative ground. The Tex Mex Tapes push that idea further south.
Timing-wise, this lands with the tour almost done. Musgraves is currently winding down her North American tour in support of the album, which wraps up with two shows at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on October 26 and 27. The announcement functions as a parting gift and a "don't go anywhere" signal at the same time. Spin put it simply: out January 15, Vol. 2 includes 11 new tunes, four sung in Spanish, and five covers.
The country establishment will have opinions. Musgraves has spent her career operating just slightly outside whatever Nashville considers acceptable, and an album with four songs in Spanish, including a live Mexico City recording with Mariachi Oro de América, is not exactly a bid for mainstream country radio. It's more interesting than that.
Meanwhile, at the Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami
Thursday night had another music moment worth knowing about. The Spanish artist Rosalía received the Billboard Hall of Fame Award at the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Thursday (Oct. 22). The ceremony was held at Miami's James L. Knight Center and aired live on Telemundo and Peacock. Dominican star Juan Luis Guerra presented her with the award.
According to Billboard, Rosalía said "I am in shock; I will never forget this moment" during her acceptance speech. She took home three awards that night, and her album LUX debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
The 2026 Billboard Hall of Fame honor went to Rosalía for an "extraordinary career defined by musical innovation, a singular artistic vision and an influence that has transcended genres, languages and borders." On LUX, she sang in 13 different languages, and the record debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. She recently completed the LUX Tour after 57 sold-out dates. The award itself has history: the Billboard Hall of Fame Award was first dedicated to Selena Quintanilla in 1995.
Two different artists, two very different nights, both of them doing something that feels genuinely their own. Musgraves is in a Seattle arena on Sunday, but her next chapter is already a mariachi recording from Mexico City.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
