Lainey Wilson has had a big year — her biggest yet.
The American country music star received a leading nine nominations at the 2023 Country Music Association Awards, winning five trophies, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year (becoming the first woman to do so since Taylor Swift).
Next, she’s nominated for her first two Grammys in 2024, up for Best Country Album for “Bell Bottom Country” and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Save Me” with Jelly Roll. “Bell Bottom Country,” which came out in 2022, is the singer-songwriter’s fourth studio album to date. It’s her second release since being signed to a major label, BBR Music Group. A breakout success, “Bell Bottom Country” received Album of the Year at both the 57th annual Country Music Association Awards and at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards this year.
Raised in a small town in Louisiana, 31-year-old Wilson made a name for herself in Nashville before stepping into the national spotlight. She’s been playing sold-out shows around the U.S., and she’ll next head to West Palm Beach, Fla., for a tour in March before heading abroad to Australia, the U.K. and continental Europe.
Just before the holidays in mid-December, Wilson closed out the year on the West Coast playing four sold-out “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” shows inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo.
“This time of year is so special to me and I feel so at home with this crowd of cowgirls and cowboys at the NFR,” Wilson tells WWD. She took the stage in her signature western glam look — complete with a cowboy hat and bell-bottoms, full of metallics and fringe.
As a surprise on one of the nights, she was joined by Miranda Lambert for a duet.
“Performing with Miranda was an unforgettable experience, and I am so grateful to call her a friend and mentor,” Wilson adds. “I loved surprising the crowd with ‘Kerosene,’ as well as a special song we wrote together called ‘Good Horses.’ It was the first time we’ve performed the song together live.”
For a behind-the-scenes look at her four nights in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo, see above.
