Lainey Wilson has become synonymous with country music during the past few years. However, the Entertainer of the Year trophies and eight chart-topping hits don’t tell the full story. The “Heart Like A Truck” singer, 33, has clawed and scratched her way to the top of the genre. And as of Thursday, July 17, the whole gutsy tale is on display for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum visitors.
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Lainey Wilson Celebrates Career-Spanning Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit
I’m five generations of blazing a trail / Through barbed wire valleys and overgrown dells, Lainey Wilson sings in “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” the third single off her Grammy-winning album Bell Bottom Country. I’m barefoot and bareback and born tough as nails.
It’s that lyrics that gives “Lainey Wilson: Tough As Nails” its name. The exhibit, on display at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum through June 2026, takes visitors on a journey through the former Hannah Montana impersonator’s career, starting with her roots in rural Louisiana.
The exhibit offers fans tangible evidence of Wilson’s success, from handwritten lyrics to various outfits to pages from her childhood journal.
“To be able to share pieces of my journey… it means more than I can say,” the “Watermelon Moonshine” singer said during Thursday’s opening celebration. “Because behind every song, every show, every step of this wild ride, I have had no choice but to become tough as nails.”
Inspiring the Next Generation
Now that her career has caught fire after nearly a decade of grinding, Lainey Wilson is looking to help other women realize the same dream. Artists like Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, and Reba McEntire were guiding lights for the “Country’s Cool Again” singer. Wilson wants to similarly “pour into” other female country artists like Megan Moroney, Ella Langley, and all the ones whose names we don’t know yet.
“I want all those little girls to know that things don’t happen overnight and that you got to be tough as nails, and you got to roll your sleeves up and do it,” she told The Tennessean. “But I’m so proud of everything that I did to get here, and I’m proud of of the journey. I feel like I wouldn’t be the artist that I am if it hadn’t been this kind of journey.”
Featured image by John Shearer/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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