When country star Kacey Musgraves announced she would play three shows after the release of her new album, she could have picked any venue. After all, Musgraves routinely plays big venues and will play Toyota Center in Houston this fall.Instead, Musgraves picked a smaller spot: the historic Gruene Hall, a tiny, 6,000-square-foot venue that fits less than 1,000 people and sits roughly an hour outside San Antonio. All three of Musgraves’ shows sold out instantly, and each of the three nights she played at Gruene garnered critical acclaim from those who were there. So exclusive were these shows that one of Chron’s editors went and simply sat outside the venue to listen to Kacey.
But she wasn’t the only one who eschewed a gigantic, corporate venue in favor of an intimate setting. On May 9, Grammy-winning indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers announced a surprise pop-up show at Cactus Theater in Lubbock. The show, which took place that very same night, was advertised as “first-come, first-served.” Tickets were sold only at Cactus Theater’s box office in Lubbock, and according to the venue, tickets went fast.
There are no photos or videos of Bridgers’ set (save for those filmed by her team), which had a strict “no cell phone, smart watches, smart glasses, cameras, or recording devices” policy. Attendees were required to use magnetically sealed Yondr pouches. One Lubbock-based Phoebe Bridgers fan wrote on Reddit that theater security thoroughly inspected bags for recording devices, as well as writing utensils or anything else that could be used to make an account of the show…