Willie Nelson & Kacey Musgraves - "The Rainbow Connection"

Willie Nelson and Kacey Musgraves teamed up for a duet at the 2019 CMA Awards tonight in Nashville. They took to the stage at Bridgestone Arena for a rendition of the iconic Muppet Movie song “Rainbow Connection.” Watch it happen below.

The two artists have collaborated before; back in 2015, Musgraves enlisted Nelson for her Pageant Material single Are You Sure?. Kacey Musgraves was up for three awards at this year’s CMAs, including Song of the Year (“Rainbow”). She won Female Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year (for “Rainbow”). Musgraves’ last studio LP was 2018’s Golden Hour, which won Album of the Year at the 2019 Grammys.

The duet is touching and tender, and you can see it in the way they respond to each other that there is a respect and an affinity towards each other. Willie strives to get his voice out, but when he does his harmonies are, as always, lovely. However, it’s Kacey’s beautiful and easy singing that makes this moment memorable. Her ability to smoothly sing through this melody and make the listener feel that ease is uncanny. Together, their connection, made magic.

So today, with rainbows running around me, I choose Willie Nelson & Kacey Musgraves’ version of "The Rainbow Connection" as my, remember the legends you looked up to, hold on to the dreams that you make, let your heart find the path it belongs to, song for a, wish upon a star, look through a rainbow, sing the songs your heart already knows, Thursday.