Lainey Wilson Reveals Her Unique Connection to Taylor Sheridan
It’s Lainey Wilson’s year—for one thing, she won four ACM Awards this year for her music—and we are just here to share it with her as the hot young country star continues her stellar rise, accomplishing a lot of things she just dreamed about as a young girl.
Tonight, she will cross one of those items off her bucket list when she co-hosts the CMA Fest along with Dierks Bentley and Elle King, as the television special features never-before-seen performances and surprise collaborations from country music’s most exciting acts, including a performance by Lainey.
“I’ve been going to CMA Fest since I was 14 years old,” she tells Parade. “I remember sitting in every corner of Nissan Stadium and feeling so in awe of the incredible talent who graced the stage and dreaming of one day being able to play that same stage. So, when I received the opportunity to not only perform at CMA Fest on the main stage this year, but also co-host I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”
ABC/Robby Klein
Lainey has added several other firsts to her career the past few years: her first acting job on Yellowstone, her first song—"Smell Like Smoke"—that was eligible for an Emmy nomination even though it didn’t make the cut, and more. During our conversation, we chatted about those things and her upcoming tour this fall with HARDY, with whom she has the hit single “Wait in the Truck.”
Related: Lainey Wilson Shares How Country Music Is Her Way of Life
Your song “Smell Like Smoke” was used on Yellowstone. Did you create that specifically for the show or it was something you already had?
We wrote it specifically for the show. I will say that a lot of the songs that I have written for the show that got synced, I didn't necessarily sit down and say, "Alright, we're writing this song for this show." It kind of organically happened, but I definitely did go into this specific co-write with three incredible songwriters—Monty Criswell, Derek George, and Lynn Hutton—and they had this idea. I said, “This seems like it would be perfect for Yellowstone." It was just a little rough around the edges. It’s talking about embracing the tough times, but I feel like a lot of my music is about that so, of course, I wrote it also from my perspective, but I was keeping people in mind on the show, like Monica (Kelsey Asbille). I really just tried to channel that dark, sexy, rough-around-the-edges vibe that Yellowstone seems to always have.
Sadly, Yellowstone didn’t do well with Emmy nominations this year, but this song was eligible. Had winning an Emmy ever crossed your mind?
I'll be honest, it didn't. All I've ever wanted to do is sing country music and tell stories that people connect to. It wasn't until once I saw how my career was starting to unravel and the opportunities that were coming my way I'm like, “Wow! There's going to be other opportunities that come along with this that I never in a million years even imagined. Even thinking about being in Yellowstone, songwriting has opened a lot of doors for me that that I never knew really even existed.
ABC/Robby Klein
Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire also act.
That's right and those are the careers that I look at. I’m like, “OK, they've done a great job at straddling that line. Always staying true to themselves, but not being scared to step outside the box and do things that are a little scary."
What was it like making your acting debut? It’s stepping out of your comfort zone a little but maybe having filmed videos for your songs helps with acting?
A little bit, but I will tell you that learning lines that I didn't write is like learning a song that I didn't write. I learned that I really just love being creative, so whatever that means. It was such a cool experience. The entire cast and crew of Yellowstone—just good, hardworking people—really embraced me and lifted me up. I didn't know what to expect going into it but I learned a lot. It gave me an opportunity to share my music with the world and that's all I've ever wanted to do.
So, you're going to be on tour and there's been all kinds of issues with Yellowstone going back into production for the second-half of season five, plus the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but any chance that when the dust settles, you could make a guest appearance again?
I'm hoping so. Fingers crossed. I'm waiting for that call from Taylor Sheridan, the boss man, I guess you could say. When he lets me know, when he gives me the green light, I’m there. We'll see what happens. I laugh and say that they didn't take me to the train station, so I could definitely be back. We'll see.
When Taylor first called you, did he ask you for the song first or to play a role?
He had heard a lot of my music because we had become friends. He invited me out to play at a horse-riding competition that he does in Las Vegas and that's where we exchanged phone numbers and really became buddies. I was a huge fan of his and he's a fan of mine. He said, “Keep sending me music,” so he was aware of a lot of the other songs that I had written but when he called he's like, “I've got this opportunity. I want to create a character specifically for you,” and that's when we ended up trying to write some songs specifically for the show.
Courtesy: Paramount Network
Related: With Four 2023 ACM Awards, Lainey Wilson Says 'Country Music Is Starting to Love Me Back'
How flattering is that?
Oh, my gosh. I'll tell you I feel like a lot of opportunities like that have come from people who have seen something in me before I saw something in myself and that's a really cool feeling.
Matthew McConaughey is going to be joining the Yellowstone universe. What do you think he will bring to Taylor’s universe?
First of all, he’s one of my favorite actors. I feel he just has this swag about him, so in my opinion, Matthew McConaughey can do no wrong. You just look at him and feel better. I think Taylor is one of the most creative people I have ever met. He inspires me and I respect him a lot. I’m excited to see what he writes.
What's the plan for the rest of year? You have concert dates with Luke Combs. Anything else?
We are going out on the road with my buddy HARDY. That'll be in the fall. It’s going to be so much fun. I just had a hit song with him “Wait in the Truck,” and he's just a dear friend of mine. It's going to be like having family out on the road. He's like a big brother to me, so that's going to be fun. I'm working on cooking some things up right now. I’m always cooking up music. If it was up to me, I'd be sharing music every single month, but that ain't how it works out here.
The three-hour primetime concert special CMA Fest airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT tonight on ABC.