Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Lainey Wilson on Her Journey from Baskin, Louisiana to Country Music Stardom

Episode Date: June 30, 2024

Lainey Wilson sits down with Willie Geist at Radio City Music Hall ahead of her concert to talk about making it big out of a small town, getting to work with her idols, and - despite the long journey - knowing she would always make it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. I am so very excited to bring in my conversation this week with one of the biggest stars in all of music right now. She is Country Music Sensation Lainey Wilson. Lainey Wilson right now is your Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. She's won all kinds of female artists of the year, Entertainer of the Year award. She just won the Grammy Award this year for Best Country Album.

She is absolutely on fire, and it comes after a long climb to get there. The 32-year-old who comes from a tiny farming town in Baskin, Louisiana, it's called. Population around 200 might be a little more, might be a little less. Grew up with her sister and her parents on the farm, her dad. It's an honest-to-goodness farmer. She rode horses and helped on the farm, her mother, a school teacher, and she had a dream from the time she was a little girl five years old, then going to Nashville at nine years old and deciding she was going to end up there someday.

Graduated high school, moved to Nashville at 19, where she lived in a trailer on property owned by a family friend who just kind of took her under his wing. He was a producer, kind of showed her around Nashville a little bit. But it took her a long time, as you'll hear, and a lot of rejection, more than a decade before she started to make it. She got her first number one song in 2021, almost to the day, 10 years after she arrived in Nashville. So they call it a 10-year town that proved to be true for her. Might know some of her songs, Heart Like a Truck is a big one.

Her album, Bell Bottom Country is the one that has garnered all these awards, all the success. And now in August coming out with a new album called Whirlwind, which is appropriate because she has been in the middle of one for the last couple of years. touring on her own now on the country's cool again tour. She spent the last year opening for huge artists like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen. I got a chance to see here. It comes up in the conversation about a year ago. Last summer in Philadelphia went to see Luke Combs play, and she was one of the opening acts,

and she just, in front of 50 or 60,000 people just burn the place down. She was so good. And I remember thinking, Lainie Wilson, we've got to get her on the show. and now, thank goodness, she has been on the show. So she is amazing. You're going to love her accent. If you haven't heard her talk before, I should point out, you probably, if you've watched Yellowstone, you know her.

She played Abby in season five. They used a lot of her music in the show in early seasons, then offered her a part. It's just been a long climb, putting all these pieces together, working hard, not taking no for an answer and getting to a place where, man, she's very easy to root for. Incredibly talented, incredibly hardworking.

Dolly Parton is her idol. And dare I say, she's got a little bit of Dolly Parton, that charm, that sparkle to go with all that talent. So let me get out of the way, sit back, relax, enjoy a conversation right now with Lainey Wilson on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Lainey, it's so great to see you. I'm such a fan. I'm so happy to sit down with you. Back at you. I've been watching your rise for the last couple of years with the rest of the world, this whirlwind.

And it's been amazing to see. And I know for people who think, wow, she just popped up. I don't know where it's been a little bit of a climb. Oh my gosh. This is not an overnight thing at all. And that's why I guess the album is named World Wind, because you are in the middle of it right now. Is that fair to say?

In the middle of it. Yes, and that's funny that you say in the middle of it because I got a song on the record called In the Middle of it, too. Yes, these past few years have, they've been wild. Like, just trying to keep one foot on the ground, trying to, like, keep my eye on the prize and, you know, keep my blinders on and my head down and make sure that I keep showing up to do what I said I was going to do. And the truth is, my life is completely changing, but I still feel the same.

And so it's been a roller coaster ride, I guess you could say, but I feel like the years that I put in on the front end prepared me for these last few years. I was thinking about your show tonight at Radio City Music Hall. And talking about this journey you've been on to go from Baskin, Louisiana, population 200-something, to play at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Does this feel like a milestone night to you? This is a bucket list moment. I mean, this is something that you call home about for sure. And to say, can you believe I'm getting to do this? And it's wild.

You know, growing up in Baskin in my little town, it was like everybody was family. and if you're not blood related, then you might as well be family. They're like there when you need them, and they're there when you don't. They're just there. But, yeah, they're so proud, and they're, you know,

I come from a hardworking group of people who just don't take no for an answer. And I kind of, I owe it to them. I owe it to being raised in Baskin, being raised by Baskin, and the people of Baskin for where I am right now, because it's just what I saw.

You get up and you do what you love and you do it for your family and just don't stop. I love what you say about Baskin. It doesn't even have a stoplight, but it does have a caution light. That's right. Which I looked into and you were not lying. Oh, I'm not. Just that one blinking yellow right there. I know, no.

It's actually called the village of Baskin. And, yeah, it's a speed trap. If you drive through there, you better slow down. Good tip. I got a ticket when I was 15. Didn't even have my license. Oh, uh-oh. But yeah, it's good people.

It's a big farming community. And I think when you kind of grow up in a place like that, you understand the importance of community. And it's so crazy because, like, I guess my community of people, even the people that my daddy farmed with and the people that they would call when they got into a bind or whatever, I, like, I watched that really closely. And so now even my crew out on the road, like, we've got, I mean,

two years ago we had a crew, I think, of five people, and now we've got 60. And it's kind of like that farm and community. It's like everybody has a job. Everybody has to get up and bust their tail and come together, you know, when shit hits the fan. And it's all one and the same. It's family. It's family. Yeah, however you define it, that's family.

It is. And a lot of people, you know, I would probably say don't mix business and pleasure, but that's hard for me. that's really hard for me because I want everybody to to feel like we're family out there because this job can get rough. I mean, you're gone most of a year and they're away

from their families. And so it's just us out there. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I want to get back to your early music days and basking in just a moment. I'm talking like early kindergarten days. But with this album, World Wind, that comes out in August,

you were in the middle of the whirlwind when you sat down to write it, all this was happening in your life and changing around you. So what kind of album did you sit down to write? Did you have something you felt like you wanted to say? I felt like I wanted to share a part of me that I didn't even know existed. Like I wanted to find that. And I think these last couple years, because it has been, it's been a constant, like, leveling up, a constant just like, all right, rising to the occasion type thing.

And that's been for me and my whole crew, my team and even my family, you know. Like it's daily. It's just been changing. But I've tried to be very aware of trying to stay true to myself and my roots and where I come from. Because I feel like if I'm not Lainey the sister, Lainey the friend, Lainey the daughter, Lainey the dog mama, then I'm not going to be able to be Lainey the artist. And so when my life was changing very rapidly, I was like holding on to those things. You know, and I'm like, I cannot let go of who I am to my core because the music's not going to be the same.

So for me, when I was writing this record, I was making dang sure that both of my feet were planted on the ground. And I'm in a happy, healthy relationship. Had to kiss a bunch of frogs to find. find the one, but I'm getting to share that part of my life, and I didn't know that I had that part of me, you know, and yeah, it's showing a vulnerable side. It's showing a lot of different, a lot of different things that, I guess, like I said, I didn't even know existed. Kiss a lot of frogs to get to a duck. Is it fair to say? Something like that. Bing, bang, ma'am, you got it. A little corny, but we're going to go with it.

Part of this whirlwind has been the accolades you've received in Nashville from the industry, from your peers, including these Entertainer of the Year awards, two of them, the CMA, and the ACM. And I'm looking down the list of your most recent one from last month, the ACM, of the women who won it. And it's one-nameers. It's Dolly, it's Reba, it's Loretta, it's Shania, it's Taylor, and now it's Laney. How do you process being in that company? That's a good company to be in.

That's a real good company to be in. The only reason that I'm where I'm at and given the opportunity to be even considered for that kind of award is because of what those ladies have done. And that's the God's honest truth. I mean, they just trailblazers. They're, you know, they like go back down those trails and they keep whacking the weeds so people like me can come up and have this opportunity. And now I've got to pay that forward because it's just been a constant trailblazing for us girls. You know, we've, we, I can sit here and talk about that all day long. Go ahead.

But really, like when I think about Dolly and I think about Reba and I think about Loretta and I think about those ladies, I think, I think, about just they had to be brave they had to like step out in a way that maybe a lot of people don't really realize and this job can get scary this I mean it's especially now with social media and the internet you know you got a lot of opinions and a lot of hateful people can come out of the woodworks but then I think about them and I'm like they did it they they weren't scared of nothing and And they're like, I'm not going to stop using my gift because somebody's got something negative to say about it. I'm going to use my gift because this is my gift to share.

And I think back to that. That's what I've, you know, I'm proud to be a part of country music and I'm proud to be able to do the same thing that they have done for me. You got a whole song about it. What would Dolly do? Which is, I think, a good way for anybody, by the way, to live their life. But guided by the example of Dolly Parton. A lot of people have seen. Dolly and you in some ways. And by that, I mean, the music, yes, but also the way you carry yourself,

the joy you seem to have for your work, your kindness with people, your willingness. You ain't seen my bad, so. Not yet. I got one of those. Give you a few minutes here. But has she been kind of a guiding light for you personally and professionally? I mean, even before I got to know her, she was the lady that I looked to and I was like, man, I want to do that. Like I want to like stay true to myself, but not be scared to step outside of the box and try things that maybe I didn't even know I was good at, you know? And even when it comes to the whole acting thing, like never in a million years at nine years old when I was writing my first song did I think that, you know, I'm going to be on a TV show or I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that. But when I look at her, I just think she has, she continues to give it her best shot. she gives 190% with everything that she does, whether that means walking into a room and loving on people,

she gives 190% when she shows up, she makes you feel like she knows you. She makes you feel like you're seen. And I don't think you can learn something like that. I think it's just, it's just in her. And so she's taught me a lot. And now that I know her, I feel like she's just taught me even more. Isn't it crazy to say out loud now that I know her? Now that I know.

If Little Laney in Baskin knew that you'd be buddies with Dolly Barton? That's weird. That's weird. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not. Yep. And are you in touch with her? I mean, is she...

Well, you know, I think you have to fax her if you want to get in touch with her. Oh, is that the deal? Yeah, yeah. So I guess I'm going to get a fax machine. But if I get a fax machine, it is only for Dolly Barton. Not many of those sitting around, are there? No. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sitdown podcast.

Stick around to hear more from Lainie Wilson. right after the break. Welcome back now more of my conversation with Lainey Wilson. Another artist I know you've looked up to is Miranda Lambert. You've got a song on the new album with her. That's also got to be cool to now consider someone like her, a peer of yours that'll come on your record. She's like my country music sister. She just has, like, she'll text me and be like, how's your heart, how's your mind, where are you at, just checking on me? Because I think if, if there's, There's one person that could kind of understand, you know, this climb and the feelings and emotions that come along with it is her. But she genuinely cares about me and cheers me on, high fives me.

Like, she just, she tells me how to not take no shit. You know, she reminds me. She's like, you're driving this thing. So you have to have people like that in your life. She's been through it, too. She has been through it. she's seen it and she was she started doing this at a very young age and so I think she's kind of had to figure out things along the way and um you know I'm 32 now but so I didn't have to figure it out

when I was 19 I was figuring out other things but she's been in it for a long time she's seen it all and you can tell they have such admiration for you that they want to reach out and do that and they like where you're taking country music and the way you carry yourself and all those things Speaking of starting things at a young age in Baskin, you correct me if I'm wrong, but one of your earliest gigs was singing at your kindergarten graduation, so five, six years old, something like that. Do you remember that performance? I do. I do. So butterfly kisses. And I was dressed up like a little butterfly, five years old, kindergarten graduation. And, man, we, I couldn't read at the time. had not started reading just yet. But you could sing. But I could sing.

And my mama had this little jukebox and this cassette player. And she would play a line of the song. I remember us sitting on the hardwood floor of this house that wasn't even insulated. And I learned the first line and then she rewind it. And then we learned the second line. And then she'd rewind it. And then we just, we kept going like that. And even at five years old, I knew I was like, I like this.

I really like this. And then nine years old, is when I wrote my first song, and that was all she wrote. Was it the crowd that you loved? Was it the singing? What was it about music that turned you on so young? All of it. I loved all of it, but I think for me,

the thing that really made me fall in love with country music was a storytelling. And I think that comes from, it's so weird that we're sitting here at a table like this, because this right here is one of my, like, all-time favorite. it like childhood memories that's around the kitchen table. Because my parents, there's some storytellers. And they stretch some of the stories too.

Because my daddy will tell this story about getting thrown off of a horse. And the first time he tells that he got thrown off 10 feet and the next time it's 15, you know. But it was the kind of stories that got better every single time that you heard them or you heard them from like a different angle that you didn't before. And it made you feel a certain way that maybe it didn't the first time you heard it. and I was around just love for country music and just love for music in general. My daddy could, you know, he could pick on the guitar and play a little bit by ear. And I wanted to tell stories.

That's what it was. And then you had to have the musical talent to catch up with that and to match that and you develop that. And there's sort of windows into the hustle that you showed today at a young age when you get 20 bucks to sing at the convenience store and do all the things you did. I think somewhere down deep you knew you were going to have to work if you wanted this thing. Even at a very young age, I mean, when most kids just think it's sort of fun and playful. You're like, this is going to be work. I knew it was going to be work.

And even like in eighth grade, I started impersonate in Hannah Montana. And I did that for five years. I did it from eighth grade to 12th grade. And I would do birthday parties, fairs, festivals. St. Jude, I was touring, like I started touring in the eighth grade, you know, and I would go to Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee. I was doing that in touring while all my friends were, you know, going to LSU football games and doing the whole thing, but that really taught me right there that if you're going to do this, that you're going to have to sacrifice a whole

lot and I knew that. I knew that on the front end, but I loved it so much. And it's really the only thing I know how to do. I feel like there was no other option for me. It seems like you had made up your mind, too, that this was it, like really young. Maybe it was that trip through Nashville where you stopped at the Grand Ole Opry and turned to your mom and said, this is going to be home, or this is home, something like that. I think you know my story better than I know my story. I love that. No, that was a very pivotal moment. in my life, I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember where I was on the interstate.

I was looking at the Batman building on I-40, and my parents had just taken me to Dollywood. And long story short, I just had like this gut feeling. And I told my parents in the car, I said, I said, this is home. I knew it. I just knew it.

I knew that I was going to be there one day. I knew I was going to be a part of the industry. And in a weird kind of way, I think they knew it too. They had like a weird sense of peace about it. And then they took me to the Grand Ole Opry. And we saw Bill Anderson, Crystal Gale, Phil Vassar, little Jimmy Dickens. And I knew that I was going to stand in that circle, even at nine years old. And maybe it was just because I was crazy.

I'm still crazy. But I knew it. I knew it. That's incredible. It is. And your parents supported you, which I love on this ride. Because for a nine-year-old to say that, you'd say, I want to be an astronaut. want to be a fire for yeah i'm going to be okay whatever but it feels like they were

they just supported it let's make this work they did they help facilitate my mama would sit on the bathroom floor where the acoustics were the best and i'd play all the songs i was writing for her and uh she was a teacher so she would kind of help me she'd be like all right now if you're writing about this truck well what what color is the truck how fast is the truck go how does that truck make you feel and that's how she helped me and my daddy he would help us get to places whether it was like the honky ton talent search or the country Colgate showdown or anything to where I could be involved they um they would they would find the opportunities and they would ask me if I wanted to do it and I'd be I'd say yes every single time and so I just kept saying yes yes I want to do it even if it's

scary. I want to do it. And I don't think I've ever really quit doing that. And you did do it and you were 19 years old and you roll into Nashville in that camper trailer. Yep. And through the kindness of a family friend who became so close to you and such a mentor found a place physically to put your camper trailer, but maybe you couldn't have seen that it was going to be a decade maybe before you really felt like I belong here. Yeah. When I first got to there in my camper, you know, I didn't know that it was going to take me another 10, 11 years to even, like, crack the egg a little bit. I thought, okay, now I'm here, and I've done all the work since I was in eighth grade, since my kindergarten graduation, you know, I've done all the

work to get here. But that was, that's when I felt like the hard work really began was when I got there. And I'm like, okay, now I've got to try to write as many songs as I possibly can. And and get my 10,000 hours in, you know. And then I realized that I thought that's where the work began. The work really didn't begin until I signed a record deal in 2018. That is really where it started, just because you signed a record deal. I mean, that don't mean that, like, it signs still delivered. You're on your way.

That means, all right, let's see what you got now. You have finally entered the race. Now you're about to run it. I think it's your life and your story in those early years are so important to people watching because the question is, how did you stay with it through all those years and through rejection and people telling you your sound wasn't right? Some people are saying, you're too country, whatever that means in Nashville, just time and time again, but not going back home and saying, okay, I'm going to do something else. What kept you in Nashville through all those years?

I think it was having like a few believers, you know, whether it was my family or folks that I have met along the way. People who even let me play their, this bar in Monroe called Pickle Barrel. They let me play four hours, you know, almost every single weekend and gave me the money at the door. And I think it was things like that, little opportunities that I just tried to remember like, well, okay, if it was always going to be a note, then why did these people say yes? And also just that going back to that nine-year-old Lainey of that weird sense of peace about knowing that this was for me. I think God laid it on my heart a long time ago,

and I think you got to listen to those things. And, yeah, I think it was being from a bunch of hard-headed folks. I mean, both of my parents, they are, some of the most hardworking, tough people I know, they just like pull their bootstraps up and they do whatever they got to do to get the job done. So I think it was a mixture of all of that. And you've got to be a little bit nuts to want to do this.

You do. What were some of the things you heard, Lainey, from record executives or radio station or people around Nashville about why maybe it wasn't going to work for you? Well, this one story specifically sticks with me. But, I mean, I had visited all of the record labels in Nashville when I was 19, and everybody passed on me because I wasn't ready. And the truth is, I was not ready. I had not lived enough life at that point to tell the kind of stories that I was supposed to tell for the audience that I have now.

You know, it was not the right time, and I truly believe that timing is everything. So I just kind of like took it on the chin, and I'm like, all right, well, one day they're going to say yes, because I would not have had the timing. opportunity to even come in here if it was going to be a no forever and somehow turning that no into a yes. But I was on radio tour the fall of 2019 and everything was going pretty smooth. I think we did a radio tour for like four months. And so we were we were visiting five or six stations a day. And so I was getting pretty tired. But we went to this this one station and And the PD, the program director, he made us wait in the little office area up front for about 30, 45 minutes, you know, trying to show us who's boss. And I go in there and we finally go upstairs and I got my guitar on my back and he said, well, I don't, I don't really want to hear what you've, like, I don't want to hear you play today.

And I'm like, okay, that's interesting. And he said, I just want to hear what it sounds like through my speakers because that's what's going to be playing on. the radio. And I said, all right, fair enough. So he plays the single at the time, which was one called Dirty Looks. And he played it through his like 1997 computer speakers. And I thought, well, anybody don't think this sounds like awful. And he played it twice. And then he sits up and you're me and I'm him and he and he leans over his desk and he says, Lainey, you're just not that good. And then I leaned over towards him and I said, and so and so, out of the 10 years, I've

been living in Nashville, you telling me that don't mean a thing. And the funny thing is, he ended up adding the song and putting it into rotation. But there's been things like that that have happened, and I've kind of just had to, like, you know, well, my stuff might not be for everybody. It strikes me that wasn't that long ago. The fall of 2019, now here you are seeing in the football stadiums. And that was at that point, you had somebody theoretically knows what he's talking about. You think I'll send him a new set of speakers?

You think you want to do it for me? You were very kind to protect him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you'll never forget. You'll never forget. I'll tell you once we could. Okay. So you can look him up.

He's regretting that one. So then what feels like the moment that you do break through? is it man ought to know? Is it Yellowstone? When did you start to say, I've heard you say when you get some of these awards, it feels like country music's finally loving me back. I've loved it my whole life, and it's loving me back.

When did it feel to you like it started to love you back a little bit? Well, even after things a man ought to know with our first hit, I could barely sell a ticket. It was like the strangest thing. I thought, man, you know how it is when you're 16? If I could just get a car, If I could just get a boyfriend, if I could just do this. And I think I had a warped view of it.

It was like, man, if I could just get a number one, like I'll be, we'll be off to the races. But also not true. People still had not put a face to a name or like a face to a song. You know, a lot of people know the songs on the radio, but they don't know who sings them. And so I knew at that moment, okay, we're going to have to continue just kind of shoving it down people's throat. Like I need to be on TikTok as much as I possibly can. I need to be, they need to know me, feel like they know me as a friend, and then get to know my music.

And so really kind of led with that foot. And then Yellowstone happened. And then the record came out and then I went viral on TikTok. Lord help us. And then it seems like the stars kind of had to continue to like align. And it wasn't until. This past fall after the CMAs, I had finally got some alone time, and I was somewhere in Florida. And it kind of just hit me. I was in the back of the bus. And I felt like, oh, wow, like, we're really doing it.

So you're talking about less than a year ago, you felt that. Yep. Wow. Too, I felt like maybe I was kind of, like, protecting myself a little bit of, like, not trying to, like, take my eye off the ball. Right. I don't want to get sidetracked. and I don't want to ever feel like, man, I've made it, you know, I've done it. There's nothing else to do. That is not the truth.

You know, I can't have that mindset, and I can't start doing things for the wrong reasons. I can't start making music to win the awards. And, you know, I've never led with that foot, so I can't start now. I can't, like, let those awards define me. I have to let them be a notch on my belt and just be like, like, okay, this is another part of the journey. I'm thankful and thank you for those gifts and I receive all of it. But this ain't the only thing for me.

You mentioned Yellowstone and putting a face to the name. That strikes me as a really important moment because your music was on the show, but they hear it and they like it, but they don't make that connection. And then it was the idea of the show creator, right, to give you a role as Abby, to which you thought, what, I'm not an actor? Oh yeah, but I thought, well, I guess if he sees something in me, that I want to see something in myself. Taylor Sheridan, he's been good to me. I mean, just putting my songs in season two.

And, I mean, people would come to my show, a handful of people would come to my show during that time. And they'd say, I found your music through Yellowstone. And I knew at that moment that the soundtrack to that show was really important. And just the way that, like, the Western way of life was pop. and off and to be a part of something like that, it was almost just like everybody wanted to be on a ranch, everybody wanted to have a horse and be a cowboy and that's the way that I grew up. And so to be a part of something like that too, it kind of just felt natural and organic and

I felt at home and I got to know him. And Taylor, he called me one day and was like, I've got this idea and he said, it's a crazy one, but what do you think about if I create a character specifically for you? And you go by the name Abby and play your music and just be yourself. But you got to kiss a cowboy and do everything else. I'm like, well, $20 is $20, right? And it paid off for sure. It paid off. People said, okay, now I see who she is and what the music makes sense because I'm watching her performance now. I was not going to ask you about the TikTok thing, and I won't because that's your personal thing. But the only thing I would say about it is I feel like the way you handled that reminded me a little bit of Dolly, which is it's out of your hands in a lot of ways.

Let's laugh about it. That's right. Well, I will tell you, I did think what would she do in that situation? I do. What would Dolly do is something that I always kind of keep in the back of my mind. to the point to where now I just, I try to navigate situations like that. I'm like, she would just kill people with kindness.

That's what she would do. And when I really think about it, I'm just like, how did y'all just notice that that big old thing was back there? It's been back there for a while. But, and truly, it got me a lot of followers in a short amount of time. So I kind of like, roped them in, you know, without even trying to. And they'd be like, hey, by the way, I got music.

But that's the thing. It wasn't a gimmick. Then they heard your music. Oh, she's good. Yeah. She's good. Yeah. So like you said, however you come to the music, come on in. Come on. Come on. Come on. A hundred percent. Stick around for more of my conversation with Lainey Wilson right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Lainey Wilson. As you talk about your heroes, the grand old offering moment. Which I got my belt buckle on. Oh, is that it? This is the one that Riva gave me. my gosh. I'm honored that you've got it on. That is so cool. Reba lets you know you're going to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the place you said you'd be when you were nine years old.

Yep. What a moment among all these moments in the whirlwind. My favorite moment so far. Hands down. My favorite moment. You know, you leave town and you moved to Nashville and you're like little fish in a big pond. and you're nowhere near your family. And you just, you want to be a part of a family. And when I got invited to actually come play the opera in 2020, as soon as I walked through the doors, I felt, I felt at home. And I felt just like a, just a presence and honored to be there every single time I get to play there

and just be a fly on the wall. But to be asked to be an official part of the family, it makes you feel like, okay, Like, I'm, I have the blessing of all these people before me and, uh, and even the, the present day, you know. And that really makes you feel like I'm going to be in this for the long haul. Hmm. You must have thought a little bit about the 19 year old in the camper trailer when Reba's handed you a belt buckle to welcome you to the Randall Opry. Mm-hmm. I mean, I know.

A lot of people thought I was crazy. Yep. Yep. 19 year old Laney. I knew it, I did, I knew it, but there's been a million steps, a million steps that you just can't, you know, like people move into town to be like, okay, what's the formula? What do you do? There's no formula. For me, it has been just doing it over and over and over again, staying true to what I do, and then finding the team members to, help guide that and steer the ship and not try to change me, but if anything, like, find things about me that I didn't know existed.

And that's what it's been, people who, like, love me from me. And, yeah, that's my advice to a lot of people. And if you're, if you have a plan B, then plan A is never going to work. You never had a plan B. I never did. I never did. I could be farming back at home with Daddy, but... He'd still take you, I bet.

He probably would. He'd take the help. So how did you explain then that is it just, I mean, this is the patience part of it, that it has exploded for you in the last couple of years? Because if you listen to the music, the music still sounds like you, and the songwriting is good, and it's all the things that you've been now so acclaimed for in the last couple of years. Have you thought about why it just kind of seems to have happened in such a big way?

anyway in the last two years? Yeah. I think because I think things like the Western way of life are coming cool again. I think during the pandemic, a lot of people probably realized what was important to them. Maybe it was family, home, faith. And I think people have been craven just a sense of being grounded. and there's like a freedom that comes along with that. And for me, country music does that, like country music.

And I think it was just really the perfect time. I think, you know, at first a lot of people were shocked when they hear me talk. They're like, there's no way that can be real. And then I'm telling you, if we called up my mama or daddy right now, like they were doing my hair and makeup earlier and my mom was on FaceTime because it's her birthday. And I was like, see, I told you. Like, it sounds like we got a mouth full of marbles. By the way, I've heard in other interviews,

you were able to do like a, not a New York accent, but. A valley girl? Yeah, like a little valley girl. You want me to try? If you got it. I guess if I was a valley girl, this is going to freak you out. It freaks me out because I don't even feel like me when I do it. Don't laugh.

Now I'm laughing. Hey, my name is Leany Wilson and I am from North Louisiana. Maybe that just sounds like a girl from Louisiana that's like trying to not be from Louisiana. That's probably what it is. For minutes, it sounded like you inhaled helium or something. I did. It kind of freaked me out. I did.

It just didn't work. It shouldn't have been coming out of that face. I know. That's good though. You know what you are? You're an actor. That's why. That's all your Yellowstone training.

That's it. That's it. They train me how to do that. That is amazing. That is amazing. How have you handled the fame side? of this, given that you could walk around Nashville for 12 years or 10 years anyway. Anonymous, do whatever you want, go wherever you want.

How are you dealing with that part of it? I mean, it has been an adjustment. I will tell you that. And my life feels different. I mean, I still go to the grocery store and I do all those things. And I can go incognito pretty quick. You'll be like, that is not Lainty Wilson. No bell bottoms and cowboy hat.

But also, again, I've kind of always known that this was going to happen. And so it's just like another thing that comes along with a job. And I know that it's going to continue to change probably for a while. And, I mean, I have to take security certain places. But it's okay. I'm learning how to adjust. You know, I still feel like me. I just feel like I got my security friend.

Just in case. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just in case. But what do your parents make of all this? I mean, obviously, they're incredibly proud of you. Yeah. What do they think of all your success? They treat me just the same. I mean, they still treat me like little lany, and that's what I love.

When your people start kind of treating you different, that's a weird feeling. I'm not going to, I've had some of that, too. Yeah. and I'm very aware of it. And I know that this is an exciting time for them, too, you know, to be a part of something like this. But, and that'll wear off. But I keep those people close,

meaning the ones that still treat me like they did when I was back home in Louisiana. I do not want to let that part of me go because I will not be, I'm going to be the artist. If I'm not, if I don't have those people in my life, being a pain of my butt at times, you know, and same me being a pain in theirs. But in a weird way, too,

I think my mama and daddy especially knew that this was going to be the case. That's why they helped take me to all of these shows and fairs and festivals, and they did whatever because they knew that this was it. And so, yes, it's been an adjustment for everybody, but not as crazy as you would think, because I think we've always just known.

I think that's part of the secret when I said why it's happened for you is the authenticity. This is who you are, by all accounts, talking to people. I don't feel like I'm being sold something. This is you from Basque in Louisiana. Well, I do a record. Let me say that record. So what songs are you most excited?

When you get up on stage tonight at Radio City, what are the songs you know will bring the place down when you get out there? I know it's asking about your, you know, like your favorite child, I understand. But what are the ones you can count on? Is it heart like a truck? It's always heart like a truck. It's the hits, I guess you could say.

Wild Horses. Even I get on the tailgate and I do a little mashup of some of the collabs that I've done with some of the boys. And, of course, save me that I do with Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll has so many incredible fans everywhere. And if you hadn't had the opportunity to sit down with him, I haven't yet, but we're working on it. You've got to get that one done. I love to be on a fly on the wall.

And he loves you. I've seen interviews where he'll be on the red carpet, he'll just take the mic and start talking about you. Why, I do the same thing. I'm like, maybe we should just switch into each other's interviews. Let me tell you about jelly roll. But, yeah, it's exciting for me. Like our single at radio right now is one called Hang Tight Honey.

Yes, great song. And it's cool to see folks start singing the new. ones that have just come out. So that one's bringing the house down too. We're going to bring the house down with every one of them. What's you talking about? That's what you do. It's what you do. So nine-year-old Lainey tonight when you're on stage at Radio City Music Hall, looking at Lainey Wilson now, country music superstar. What's she thinking, nine-year-old Lainey? I think she'd be proud of herself. I do. I think she'd be very proud of herself. It's, um, I really do think that the journey has just started.

And that's cool and scary and everything in between. But I think she'd be proud of her for, like, staying true to herself and not wavering. I'm always down for growth. That's not it at all. Like, I want to be a better person, a better singer, a better songwriter. I want, like, I take constructive criticism when it's from people who know what they're talking about, you know. But, yeah, I think she'd be proud. And I'd, yeah, that's it.

She should be. You're very easy to root for, Lennie. Thank you. We're big fans. And I told you, before we started, I saw you last summer. Yeah. Playing with Luke Combs and 50,000, 60,000 people. Yep.

And I was like, look out. Yeah. Lookout world. She's coming. I mean, you were here already in many ways, but it's going up from here. And so I'm happy to root for you along the way. Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it. I feel like I just sat down and talked with a friend that I ain't talked to in a while. Oh, thank you. That's so sweet. I feel the same. And we'll be rooting for you all along. Good luck tonight. Have fun.

I appreciate that. All right. My big thanks to Lainey for a great conversation. I hope you enjoyed getting to know her if you didn't already. Her upcoming album, Whirlwind is out on August 23rd, and you can see her out on the road right now on the country's cool again tour. And of course, as always, my thanks to all of you for listing again this week. If you want more, these conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.