Jessica Simpson is bringing her love of leopard print center stage!
The musician, 44, stepped out for a surprise performance at the annual Luck Reunion festival on Friday, March 13 — rocking an animal-inspired ensemble featuring a hint of her southern roots for the Texas event.
During the gig, which took place at Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch in Spicewood, Texas, Simpson wore a leopard-print maxi dress featuring plenty of accessories, as well as a cropped white floral knit cardigan to top it all off.
Simpson’s many accessories included a massive silver belt decked out in turquoise stones, which matched her similarly styled earrings and necklace. She also wasn’t shy when it came to her silver jewelry on her wrists and fingers during the gig, with her showing off some bedazzled action on her nails, too.
While on stage, the “Take My Breath Away” singer treated fans to tracks off her forthcoming Nashville Canyon, Part 1 EP, including “Use My Heart Against Me,” “Leave” and “Sunday Lover,” as well as a callback to 2005’s Dukes of Hazzard with her cover of “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” per a release.
Of course, on her feet, Simpson rocked a pair of brown boots to mark the occasion — also making her Nancy Sinatra cover a little more timely.
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Her latest leopard look comes shortly after she showed off another animal-print ensemble while at the airport on Thursday. While in Austin to perform for the first time in 15 years at the Recording Academy’s Austin Chapter Block Party amid the South by Southwest festival, Simpson gave fans a glimpse of a cozier leopard outfit via Instagram, featuring a fur teal coat, the jumpsuit itself and tall latex boots with heels.
According to Rolling Stone, Simpson also performed “These Boots Are Made for Walking” and “Son of a Preacher Man” at the SXSW event on Wednesday, March 12, while opting for a suede Western outfit.
During the event, she opened up about her decision to return to music ahead of playing her first song, “Breadcrumbs,” marking its live debut. “This time, I needed to remember who I was and why I wanted to sing in the first place and all the music that inspires me,” she told the crowd this week. “And I needed to forget who they told me to be.”
Simpson’s forthcoming EP Nashville Canyon, Part 1 will mark her first proper project in 15 years, following a 2021 cover and six songs she shared alongside her 2020 audiobook.
As she told PEOPLE last month, her new music — which follows her and husband Eric Johnson’s announcement of their split — also grew out of her 2022 bestselling memoir, Open Book. “After I put out the book, I was like, ‘The sky’s the limit for me,'” she said, “but it was also – whoa, people are responding to me as I am. Not who I should be or could be and that gave me the courage to come back to music.”
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