Lainey Wilson surprised fans at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Friday morning (October 27) ahead of the public on-sale of her 2024 Country’s Cool Again Tour. The country singer/songwriter appeared at the venue’s ticket window to assist in ticket purchases for the Nashville dates of the tour and meet and greet with fans.
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The Country’s Cool Fan Event featured free food and coffee as well as a DJ, corn hole, and photo opportunities for those who made it to the venue. Fans began to line up at 6 a.m. for the chance to meet and buy tickets directly from the country superstar. For an hour before the public on-sale, Wilson popped up at the ticket window to chat with fans, take pictures, and assist in selling tickets to her shows at the venue on May 31 and June 1, 2024.
[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Adds Extra Hometown Dates to 2024 Country’s Cool Again Tour]
Fans traveled everywhere from Tennessee and Ohio to Nova Scotia for their chance to chat with the singer. One family shared that their young daughter started singing 15 months ago before snapping a photo with Wilson. “Girl, I see the stars in your eyes, they’re dancing,” Wilson responds. “It’s a fun ride. Hold on.” Another young girl sang a verse of Wilson’s previous No. 1 single “Heart Like a Truck” to her.
Many fans showed up in their best Wilson attire including bell-bottoms and wide-brimmed hats. “I just want to say thank you for the music,” one man told the “Watermelon Moonshine” singer.
“I want to try to make sure that I know them and they know me,” Wilson tells American Songwriter of building her career fan by fan. “I think doing things like this create that atmosphere. I think that’s how you create long-lasting fans.
“When I think about people like Reba or Garth or Dolly, I feel like they’re the ones that really made sure that they had that connection, that personal interaction,” she continues. “It takes things like this to do that. To have those fans that will be around forever and those are the fans everybody dreams about having.”
Wilson says the idea of her Country’s Cool Fan Event came from brainstorming between management and Live Nation. “We felt like the stunt needed to be something a little more personal,” she adds.
And personal it was. Several mothers waited in line with their daughters to spend some time with the singer. For one fan, Wilson was her first concert. “Thank you for being a good role model for my daughter,” one mother tells the singer. “Thank you for being someone she can look up to,” another mother adds. “I’ll try to be on my best behavior,” Wilson quips.
The admiration continued as one female fan praised the singer/songwriter for being “a great inspiration for women.” It’s something Wilson doesn’t take for granted.
[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Announces Charitable Foundation, the Heart Like a Truck Fund]
“It’s awesome,” she says. “When they start dressin’ like you is when you’re like, ‘OK, I really do have an impact and I gotta make sure that what I say and what I do reflects what I want to put out there.’ I don’t take it lightly. I really don’t. I want to make sure that whatever I’m doing and sayin’ now I’ll be proud of 30 years from now or one day when I have children, am I gonna be proud to share that moment with them? Of course, I wouldn’t be out there running amok and actin’ a fool.
“It’s a good reminder when the parents come up and say that kind of thing, it reminds you that, ‘Hey, you’ve got a lot of little eyes looking at you,’” she continues. “I just hope that if anything, the little girls and even the little boys too, who are fans, I hope they know a little bit of my story and my journey and they can see that it didn’t happen for me overnight. But if you want anything you got to put in the work and go do it and that builds character and strength and everything else that you need to live life.”
One dollar of every ticket sold for Country’s Cool Again Tour will go to Wilson’s newly announced Heart Like a Truck Fund, which contributes to “a diverse range of philanthropic endeavors.” The singer further explains the foundation’s mission to American Songwriter.
“I’m excited to finally be able to give back,” Wilson says. “I’ve been giving back in certain ways, but it feels good to officially be able to do that. Of course, I think we’re making a difference with our music and with our stories and the shows and making people feel something, but actually being able to give back specifically to certain communities and finding out whatever city we’re in, whatever might be something that they’re dealing with donate towards that. I want to learn about what’s going on in all the cities and I think it’s gonna do me some good. Truth.”
Tickets for most of Wilson’s upcoming dates are on sale now and are available on StubHub.
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Photos: Annie Reuter / American Songwriter
