Lainey Wilson brought one of her new songs to the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry just shared a video of Wilson performing “Country’s Cool Again,” a song from her next album, from the iconic stage.
Wilson made her long-awaited Grand Ole Opry debut on February 14, 2020, one year before her freshman Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin‘ record was released in February of 2021.
“I was nervous,” Wilson recalled to Country Now. “This was it. When you asked me, ‘What venue do you want to play?’ I would’ve told you the Grand Ole Opry.”
Wilson is currently enjoying a Top 10 hit with “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” presumably the final single from her Bell Bottom Country album. For Wilson, “Country’s Cool Again” embodies everything the Louisiana native believes in and wants to represent.
“‘Country’s Cool Again,’ I truly feel like it is, and I’m talking about the Western way of life,” Wilson told Everything Nash and other outlets at a recent media event. “It’s so cool to see folks thinking that the way that I grew up is cool. It seems like everybody’s wanting to ride a horse; it seems like everybody’s wanting to wear a cowboy hat. And the truth is, I think it just makes you feel at home.
“I think the pandemic probably had a lot to do with that,” she continued. “I think people maybe realized the things that make you feel grounded, and country music makes you feel at home. And to see the way that it’s growing right now, it’s crazy. It is really crazy. I am so proud to be part of this generation of country music. I think everybody looks different and sounds different and has different stories, and comes from different walks of life. I am so proud of that, and to me, that’s what ‘Country’s Cool Again’ means in a nutshell.”
Wilson is heading into the 2024 ACM Awards with five nominations, including one for the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. It’s a category she already won at the 2023 CMA Awards, an honor that only makes her want to work harder than ever.
“It was huge that the people I look up to and respect voted for me,” Wilson explained. “It’s really cool to be recognized. And the truth is, I’ve been working on my relationships in this town for 13 years, ’cause I knew at the end of the day, I could be a decent singer, and be a decent songwriter. But if I was a good person, people would remember that more than they would remember my songs. And I think in situations like that, that has come in handy.
“I will say, now that we won, I’m not the type of person that’s like, ‘All right, we did it. That’s it. We’ve just won the biggest award you can possibly win,'” she remarked. “I’m like, ‘Okay, well, they crowned me Entertainer of the Year, so it’s about time that I show them that I am,’ for the ones who thought that I deserved it, and for the ones that didn’t. That’s just who I am, and part of my DNA too.”
The 2024 ACM Awards will air live on Thursday, May 16, from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The ceremony will stream live exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Tickets for the general public are available now, via SeatGeek. More information is available at ACMCountry.com.
Wilson will embark on her Country’s Cool Again Tour next month. Find “Country’s Cool Again” and all of Wilson’s music and upcoming shows at LaineyWilson.com.
Read ‘Lainey Wilson: 11 Things to Know About Her Extraordinary Life and Career’ here.