Lainey Wilson Shines In Headlining Bridgestone Arena Show: 5 Top Moments

Lainey Wilson has already earned 4 Billboard Country Airplay No. 1s and has been named entertainer of the twelvemonth by some the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music (she up for the CMA entertainer of the twelvemonth accolade again this year), won a Grammy, go a Grand Ole Opry subordinate and opened her Bell Bottoms Up barroom successful downtown Nashville. But she’s inactive crossing disconnected long-held dreams connected her vocation wishlist.

Thursday nighttime (Oct. 2), she knocked disconnected different 1 erstwhile she headlined a celebratory amusement astatine Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the archetypal time, bringing her Whirlwind World Tour to Music City.

“I’ve sat successful each country of this arena,” said Wilson, who astatine 1 constituent lived successful a camper trailer aft moving to Nashville successful 2011. She’s spent the past 14 years steadily ascending to go 1 of state music’s astir charismatic, multi-faceted entertainers.

“It’s ever been a imagination of caput to header this place,” she said. “God is good. He gives you the desires of your heart.” Meanwhile, Wilson gave fans their tendency that evening–an energy-filled acceptable brimming with hits and heart—and plentifulness of surprises, too.

This small-town Louisiana autochthonal has swiftly risen to the euphony industry’s precocious echelons, done a operation of richly-detailed, relatable songs, a high-octane show style, a relentless enactment ethic, a almighty voice, and an insistence connected bringing her afloat aforesaid to her artistry — lasting isolated from the assemblage by celebrating her Louisiana roots, portion embracing her signature Southern drawl and Western-meets-hippie inspired manner sense.

Throughout the evening, she offered up some hits and heavy cuts, including “Hang Tight Honey,” “Watermelon Moonshine,” “Even the Devil Don’t Go There,” and “Somewhere Over Laredo,” the second featuring Wilson lasting precocious aloft a pedestal, belting retired the opus arsenic a long, gauzy cape flowed down her. A motion to her state bona fides, a monolithic horseshoe served arsenic the main backdrop for the evening, portion screens regularly featured horses and lassos.

Several times during the evening, she paused to soak successful what was surely an overwhelming feeling of long-held dreams being realized. She besides brought to the signifier galore of the friends she’s made on the way, highlighting the powerfulness of the connected creativity that fuels the emergence of truthful galore of Nashville’s artists, some past and present.

She welcomed backmost to the signifier 1 of her openers, Muscadine Bloodline, arsenic the set performed an aboriginal collaboration, “Pieces,” from its 2020 medium Turn Back Time. Wilson and Bloodline’s Gary Stanton reminisced astir penning the opus successful a janitor’s closet, arsenic they didn’t person a writer’s country disposable erstwhile they wrote the song. Stanton and bandmate Charlie Muncaster past amazed Wilson with a plaque, and quality that the opus had been certified Gold by the RIAA.

“We’ve travel a agelong mode from the janitor’s closet,” she quipped.

She besides welcomed singer-songwriter ERNEST to collaborate connected their stone-cold state duet, “Would If I Could,” an aching ballad written astir 30 years agone by Dean Dillon and Skip Ew...