The good thing about rock bottom/Is up’s the only way/I’m about to open up a can of healing this heartbreak: Lainey Wilson - Video - Whirlwind
OVER THE PAST decade, Lainey Wilson has established herself as a Nashville force. The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and recently-inducted Grand Ole Opry member has written songs for the likes of Luke Combs and Flatland Cavalry; she’s appeared on the modern Western Yellowstone after having songs of hers featured on the hit series; and she’s steadily released catchy, punchy albums that mash up Southern rock, soul, and classic Nashville ideals into a genre that she’s dubbed “bell-bottom country.”
Since releasing her first full-length album in 2014, Wilson has refined and built on that concept, polishing and expanding the boundaries of her sound while keeping the honest storytelling and all-in singing that powers her best work intact. With her third major-label album, Whirlwind, the Louisiana native flexes her songwriting and vocal muscles, distilling them through a megawatt charm that brings the listener directly into the heart of whatever she might be singing about.
She’s not afraid to take big swings, even if they’re silly; anyone who’s confident enough to declare “Doggone daggummit, didn’t see that comin’/Country’s cool again,” which Wilson does in euphoric fashion on the galloping nod to country’s recent pop resurgence, “Country’s Cool Again,” clearly is happy with putting their whole self into whatever they are singing.
Had my own back
Climbing that mountain only voice howling
Was my own pack
I was a lonestar
Shooting for the moon
But I finally found a rebel who’s on the same level
When I found you"
Yeah this funnel wouldn’t be near as fun without you spinning round
Yeah we’re always on the move at a daredevils speed
Running with the buzzards and the tumbleweeds
We’re a whirlwind but baby loving you’s a breeze"
It’s a rat race
But you keep my head cool ya keep my heart full
On a half tank
I was one set of tracks a million miles an hour
But two palominos is more horsepower"
Yeah this funnel wouldn’t be near as fun without you spinning round
Yeah we’re always on the move at a daredevils speed
Running with the buzzards and the tumbleweeds
We’re a whirlwind but baby loving you’s a breeze
Loving you’s a breeze"
Lainey Wilson answers our rapid-fire questionnaire.
Award-winning country artist Lainey Wilson graces the cover of our October 2024 issue and answers some of our burning questions. Check out Wilson’s go-to off-stage outfit, favorite old school country song, and more.
C&I: Favorite outfit you’ve worn to an event?
Lainey Wilson: The Balmain I got to wear to the Grammys this year.
C&I: Go-to outfit off-stage?
Wilson: Wranglers and a T-shirt.
C&I: What you listen to in the car?
Wilson: Either devotionals or my Pause app, because that’s the only time in the day when I’m by myself. Or maybe I’ll catch up on some new-release music.
C&I: You can only listen to one classic country song for the rest of your life ...
Wilson: ‘When You Say Nothing at All,’ by Keith Whitley.
C&I: The women you admire most?
Wilson: My mama, my sister, my grandma, my aunts, and my manager, who is my best friend.
C&I: Favorite place out West?
Wilson: I would love to go back to Jackson Hole. We camped out one night and we hiked around Jenny Lake. That was probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
Visit laineywilson.com for music, tour dates, and more.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Erick Frost, Eric Ryan Anderson
From our October 2024 issue.
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