The iconic k.d. lang has just been recognized as this year’s Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. To commemorate this moment, lang took the stage at the CCMA Awards in Edmonton with her old band The Reclines — their first performance together in 35 years.
In true lang fashion, she chose a show-stopping outfit for the occasion. The ensemble — a blue skirt and button-up fringe shirt, decorated with green, white, and yellow felt depicting a prairie landscape and adorned with miniature farm animal toys — was worn by lang more than three decades ago.
Until it was called upon by lang for the big reunion on September 14, 2024, the outfit was preserved in the National Music Centre’s collection in Calgary, waiting for its moment to shine again.
But let’s start at the beginning.
This nostalgic look can be traced back to 1988, when lang was leaping across stages as Canada’s unorthodox queen of cowpunk. Hailing from the small prairie town of Consort, Alberta, lang’s upbringing was as country as the outfit suggests.
“The geography of the prairies definitely had an impact, and still remains completely influential,” said lang. “Growing up in a town of 650 people, people think that you usually conform to the normal, kind of rigid living, but to me, it breeds eccentricities because everyone knows you so intimately in the country. No matter who you are, it’s normal, because it’s just like family.”
The aesthetic of this handmade outfit was inspired by the cover art for k.d. lang and The Recline’s debut album, A Truly Western Experience, paying homage to her country roots.
“It gave me plenty of room, being from the prairies, to cultivate my imagination. The vastness of the prairie was a pretty wide open canvas and just let me play, you know, play with all my influences and all the things that were my lifelines,” said lang.
lang wore this outfit many times throughout the final years of the 1980s — the final years of her country era — including an appearance on the Jim Henson Hour, the Late Show with David Letterman, her Buffalo Cafe television special on CBC, and for several live concerts and photoshoots.
From thrift store finds and skirts made from old curtains, to rhinestones and designer suits, the visual artistry of lang’s outfits and props became a quintessential part of her performances. Eventually, all these memories needed a home. She joked that they might end up in a thrift store, but instead, lang reached out to the National Music Centre.
In 2017, the National Music Centre team picked up a truckload of lang’s artifacts including 90 complete outfits and several accessories. The archivists got to work cataloguing, restoring, and showcasing these pieces in a temporary exhibition that looked back on her life as a performance artist.
Since then, lang has donated instruments, awards, magazines, photographs, sheet music, and more memorabilia, many of which are currently on display in the newly-updated Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame exhibition.
Most people would expect these artifacts to remain in the museum, telling their stories from inside its walls, but lang had other ideas. As she looked back on her career leading up to her Hall of Fame induction, lang gathered the important ingredients for a history-making performance.
First, the music. She convened with original members of The Reclines — including Ben Mink, Gordie Matthews, and John Dymond — along with a cast of talented Canadian country musicians to finally get the band back together.
Next, the visuals. In July, lang reached out to Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of the National Music Centre, to ask about wearing one of her old outfits for the performance.
With a long list of pieces to choose from, lang stopped by in secret to try them on and make her choices — an old familiar pair of cutoff cowboy boots, the blue prairie outfit she wore on stage, and a sparkling black Nudie suit, which she donned to walk the CCMA red carpet before the show.
“It’s an example of NMC’s living collection coming to life, but usually, it’s instruments being brought to life on stage or in the studio,” said Mosker. “This doesn’t happen where somebody wears a vintage costume, it’s quite unusual.”
Those pieces came to life in an unforgettable way. lang’s worn-out boots stomped and strutted across the stage. Her skirt twirled and mingled with the microphone cord in her signature style. The Reclines played their toe-tapping song “Big Boned Gal” as if no time had passed at all.
The performance was a full circle moment, fittingly taking place in Edmonton where lang was born, in the heart of the prairie landscape that influenced so much of her life and career, with her beloved band members and a legendary outfit from days gone by.
“It’s such an honour to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, and I’m thrilled to have some of my favourite outfits on display at the National Music Centre,” said lang. “These items represent so many meaningful moments in my career, and I love having a place for my fans to see them showcased. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is a deeply humbling experience, and I’m grateful to be celebrated alongside so many incredible artists.”
As the weekend came to a close, the National Music Centre team found themselves driving home with an extra piece of special cargo. lang had one more surprise in store — donating her white Armani suit from her performance of “Hallelujah” at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, a piece of music history that will live on in the National Music Centre’s collection.
