Gretchen Wilson is starting 2026 off on the right foot! The singer brought her performance skills to Music City when she took the stage during New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash.
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The crowd cheered and sang along as Wilson performed “Redneck Woman” at Whiskey Row. Wilson leaned into the fun, even having the crowd take over singing completely during the chorus.
Wilson is just one of many people performing during the five-hour-long CBS special.
Headliners Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, and Bailey Zimmerman will take the stage at Bicentennial Park, where they’ll be joined by CeCe Winans and the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
Meanwhile, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Riley Green, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Keith Urban, and Stephen Wilson Jr. will perform at various venues across Music City.
Additionally, Dwight Yoakam and Marcus King will take the stage at Category 10, home of the official New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash watch party, with special guests Cody Alan and Caylee Hammack.
Bert Kreischer and Hardy are hosting the special, which will include appearances by comedian Dusty Slay, Entertainment Tonight‘s Cassie DiLaura, Sirius XM host Buzz Brainard, and UFC champion Kayla Harrison.
Gretchen Wilson’s 2025 on ‘The Road’
2025 saw Wilson bring her talents to TV when she served as the tour manager on The Road. The competition series featured 12 artists opening up for Keith Urban on tour, all while getting advice from “Mama Gretchen.”
“She has been such inspiration to me, especially as a female in country music,” finalist Cassidy Daniels told American Songwriter. “There is no other female out there that is busted up the boys club more than Gretchen freaking Wilson.”
Fellow finalist Channing Wilson agreed, stating, “She was really amazing. She shot you straight, and sometimes you really need that in this business. A lot of people just kind of keep it even all the time, and she was really real the whole time.”
Now that Adam Sanders has been declared the winner of the show, Wilson has time for her own ventures. Though she hasn’t released an album since Ready to Get Rowdy in 2017, that may finally change in 2026.
In a November post to Instagram, Wilson shared a video of herself in the studio. She captioned the clip, “I think it’s about time… Don’t you?”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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