There’s no denying that 2023 has been Lainey Wilson’s year. The singer/songwriter continues to make history at awards shows and at country radio thanks in part to her 2022 album Bell Bottom Country, which was released one year ago today (October 28).
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American Songwriter caught up with the country superstar on Friday (October 27) at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville following a fan meet and greet as she sold tickets to her 2024 Country’s Cool Again Tour. The singer expressed her surprise at the one-year anniversary of Bell Bottom Country and discussed her whirlwind year and the highs and lows it has brought her.
[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Sells Tickets, Greets Fans at Tour On-Sale]
“It has been just like bam, bam, bam,” she tells American Songwriter of her life since the release of Bell Bottom Country. “Even family members lately they’re like, ‘If you could name one thing that was the turning point.’ There’s not anything specifically at all. I mean, whether it was golly, putting the music out and being on the road … and even the viral moment. It’s hard to put your finger on it. … Then we do the headlining tour and then go out with Luke Combs and then we’re doing every fair and festival in between and now we’re out with HARDY and Red Rocks. It’s just been blessing after blessing. It has been an evolution.”
As with anything in life, Wilson says there have been both high and low points throughout her career-making year. She remains optimistic throughout it all though.
“There are extreme highs and extreme lows,” she admits. “They were right about that. But you just saddle back and get back on, it’s true. It’s hard to be happy all the time when you’re just tired. But still, when I do get really tired I’m just like, ‘These are the days that we’re gonna talk about.’ I’m thankful to have a job to be tired but next year is gonna be a lot more manageable. We’re playing half the amount of shows probably.”
Some of the singer’s recent highs include commemorating the success of “Heart Like a Truck” with a No. 1 party in Nashville. Her latest single, “Watermelon Moonshine,” also reached the peak position on the country charts. As Wilson celebrates the one-year anniversary of Bell Bottom Country tonight with a show at Nashville Municipal Auditorium with HARDY, she is already gearing up for her next set of music.
[RELATED: 2023 CMA Awards: Lainey Wilson Tops the List With 9 Nominations]
Wilson says her team is trying to figure out what her next single to country radio will be. It’s unclear if it will be a song off Bell Bottom Country or her forthcoming studio album.
“I’m ready to get back in the studio,” she says. “We’re getting in there in November and cutting songs. Truth is we were working on the next batch of music before Bell Bottom was out. I feel like that’s how it always works. There were some that I was like, ‘This doesn’t seem like it would be for this project but I could see myself singing this for the rest of my life next.’
“We’re getting back in January and February and cutting a lot of music,” she continues. “I’m just excited to create. I’m ready for those creative juices to start flowing in the studio working with Jay [Joyce] and seeing what we can cook up. It’s gonna be the same vibe but a different vibe. I want every project to represent something different and we’re just trying to figure that out right now. We might not know until we get into the studio.”
Wilson says she’s been “writing a good bit” with “Heart Like a Truck” co-writers Dallas Wilson and Trannie Anderson for the next project. She’s staying open to collaborating with others in the Nashville songwriting community too.
[RELATED: Lainey Wilson Announces Charitable Foundation, the Heart Like a Truck Fund]
“I’m trying to make sure that that I’m not just writing with the same folks only, trying to make sure that I keep my hands in different songwriting [circles] throughout the community,” she adds. “You learn something from everybody, but we are writing a bunch. I am partial and I think my team is partial too, but everybody is jacked about the new stuff. I think it’s gonna be a step up. It’s definitely not a step down.”
(Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
