Lainey Wilson is so glad to have Terri Clark in her corner. Wilson was just inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, on the same night that Clark celebrated her 20th anniversary as an Opry member, a joint celebration that Wilson was honored to share with her musical hero.

“When I think about growing up in the ’90s, I think about those women that were just blazing some trails, and she was a part of that,” Wilson told Everything Nash and other outlets backstage ahead of her induction. “Just the way that she’d get up there with her acoustic guitar and just rock out, and not give a dang. It made me feel like I could do that too. The night that I got invited to the Opry, it was February 14, 2020, and she introduced me to the stage. And so, tonight, it’s just a full-circle moment for this to be lined up again.”

Wilson joined Clark on “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” from Clark’s latest, star-studded Take Two album. The “Hang Tight Honey” singer says it’s women like Clark and Wynonna Judd, whom she calls her “country music mama,” that make Wilson’s job as one of the reigning country music superstars so much easier.

“Having those kind of people that I can call and lean on — they can tell me what to do, what not to do,” Wilson says. “It’s important, in a crazy career like this to keep those people close.”

Wilson was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry by Reba McEntire, while Wilson was performing as part of the Season 25 finale of The Voice. She was inducted by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.

“Tonight, it feels like the biggest night of my life,” Wilson said from the Grand Ole Opry stage. “We’ve had a crazy couple of years, and all of the awards and everything. But this right here is the highest honor for me. It feels like that stamp of approval from everyone that has stood right here, and it just lights another fire under my butt.”

Ahead of her induction, Wilson admitted she was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she was about to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around it,” Wilson acknowledged. “My family is here tonight … I have the whole town of Baskin and Franklin Parish here. The people who supported me before I found the support here in Nashville. It just feels like a big, full-circle moment for me. From a very early age, I wanted to play here. I wanted to come here, then I wanted to play here, then I wanted to be a member.

“And it feels like I’ve taken a million steps to get here, but it also feels like one big giant leap, and I think the leap is really just a leap of faith, so I’m very excited and honored,” she added.

Wilson’s Whirlwind album will be out on August 23.   Bottoms Up Bar is open now. Find 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.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry / Chris Hollo