Photo: CeCe Dawson
Lainey Wilson said she'll “continue to push it and level up” when she extends her latest studio album, Whirlwind, with the deluxe edition later this summer.
The reigning Academy of Country Music Artist-Songwriter of the Year (a victory that Reba McEntire and Miranda Lambert revealed to Wilson in a surprise moment backstage) penned five new songs after she released the original 14-track record in August 2024. So far, Wilson has released “Bell Bottoms Up” — the same name as the bar she opened last year in Nashville, Tennessee — and “Somewhere Over Laredo” from the deluxe album. The rest will arrive on August 22 to mark the one-year anniversary of the original Whirlwind’s release.
“I’m very proud of this song,” Wilson said in a recent interview with iHeartCountry of “Somewhere Over Laredo,” which she wrote with Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Andy Albert. “I spend a lot of my time in the air on a plane, headed to the next town, to the next show, and I catch myself just looking out the window and dreaming, and thinking, and reminiscing, talking to God, (and) writing songs. And I feel like this song right here, it gave me an opportunity to step back into a pair of shoes that I wore years ago, and I got to tell a story from that perspective. So, and that’s what country music is, you know? It’s about taking you back to a certain time and place, and memory and feeling, and that’s what we wanted to capture in this song right here. And it was cool to be able to tip our hat at the same time to one of the most classic songs of all time [‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ famously performed by actress Judy Garland when she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in 1939].
“These songs that are gonna be on the deluxe, they were all written after Whirlwind was out, so it was kind of like the next step, or what life I lived right after Whirlwind was released,” Wilson continued. “And so, it was cool to be able to tap into that, and also, it’s cool to be able to share that side, too, with the fans. And I’m really, really proud of this. I mean, I’m partial, but somehow, I feel like we continue to push it and level up, and I feel like even the people that I write songs with, they’re feeling the same way. We’re like, ‘OK, we really did it with this one,’ and we’re like, ‘OK, well how does it get better than this?’ And then it somehow does. But that’s a good place. That’s a very good place to be in.”
Wilson has “learned how to find inspiration in different places,” as she balances her sharp-witted songwriting with touring the world. Much of her inspiration stems from “just living,” she said. “Just being that sister and friend and fiancée and daughter and dog mom… all those things that just make me feel like me, and even just doing the things that I grew up doing (like) riding horses, being outside, feeling the wind on my face, all of those things I feel like keep me inspired and keep my feet on the ground because the kind of music that I wanna write – the kind of music that speaks to me, at least – is from a place of that.” Some of Wilson’s co-writers have joined her on the road, and the group has adapted to working on new music anywhere. She pointed out that most of her Whirlwind record was written on a tour bus or at her house. Wilson said “we’ll be writing a song, (and) I’ll be putting a vocal down literally one minute before I’m supposed to be on stage. But we get it down. We figure it out.”
The Grammy winner said she used to write more than 300 songs per year — “I feel like I had to write all of those songs, all thousands of them, to be the writer that I am now” — though now, she’s finding other outlets to express herself. That includes her signature bell bottoms and other fashion pieces, new acting roles, and in her high-energy live shows. Wilson kicked off the international leg of her “Whirlwind World Tour” earlier this year, and will begin playin dozens of shows across the U.S. from August to November. Special guests on select dates of the tour include ERNEST, Muscadine Bloodline, Kaitlin Butts, Maddox Batson, Drake Milligan, Lauren Watkins and Zach Meadows, per Wilson’s meteorologist-themed tour announcement earlier this year. See the upcoming tour stops below.
Concertgoers can expect “a dang good time,” Wilson said. “Just be prepared to cut loose and let your hair down. That’s, at least, what I’m planning on doing. I just want everybody to feel welcome and come as you are and just enjoy the moment. Let the music take you somewhere. That’s what I hope for (with live shows).”
August 14—Phoenix, AZ—Footprint Center*
August 15—Albuquerque, NM—Isleta Amphitheater*
August 16—Denver, CO—Ball Arena*
August 21—Bend, OR—Hayden Homes Amphitheater*
August 22—Sacramento, CA—Golden 1 Center*
August 23—Los Angeles, CA—Kia Forum*
August 28—Calgary, AB—Scotiabank Saddledome*
August 29—Edmonton, AB—Rogers Place*
August 30—Saskatoon, SK—SaskTel Centre*
September 11—Baton Rouge, LA—Raising Cane’s River Center†
September 13—Bossier City, LA—Brookshire Grocery Arena†
September 18—Austin, TX—Moody Center‡
September 19—Fort Worth, TX—Dickies Arena‡
September 20—Houston, TX—The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman ‡
September 25—Toronto, ON—Budweiser Stage§
September 26—Clarkston, MI—Pine Knob Music Theatre§
September 27—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena§
October 2—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena||
October 3—Noblesville, IN—Ruoff Music Center§
October 4—Cleveland, OH—Blossom Music Center§
October 9—Columbia, MD—Merriweather Post Pavilion§
October 10—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden§
October 11—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center§
October 16—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casio Amphitheatre||
October 17—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena||
October 18—Saint Paul, MN—Xcel Energy Center||
October 24—Knoxville, TN—Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center#
October 25—Charlotte, NC—Spectrum Center#
November 7—Tampa, FL—Amalie Arena#
November 8—Orlando, FL—Kia Center#
~with special guest Zach Meadows
*with special guests ERNEST and Kaitlin Butts
†with special guests ERNEST and Maddox Batson
‡with special guests Muscadine Bloodline and Drake Milligan
§with special guests Muscadine Bloodline and Lauren Watkins
||with special guests Muscadine Bloodline and Maddox Batson
#with special guests ERNEST and Drake Milligan