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Lainey Wilson Recalls the Unique Punishment a Louisiana Judge Bestowed Upon Her
Before she was a Grammy-winning country singer and two-time Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson was a small-town girl growing up in tiny Baskin, Louisiana. With just 170 people in town, the “Country’s Cool Again” singer, 33, knew nearly all her neighbors. During a recent appearance on Sirius XM’s Life with John Mayer show, Wilson gave an example of how small-town living is often both a blessing and a curse.
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How a Teenage Lainey Wilson Escaped a Speeding Ticket
At 15 years old, officers pulled over Lainey Wilson for driving 75 mph in a 45-mph speed limit zone.
Appearing before a judge to learn her punishment, the “Hang Tight Honey” singer was met with a familiar face and an unusual proposition.
“Thank goodness the judge was my next-door neighbor,” Wilson told Mayer. “And he made me write a song about speeding.”
She then proceeded to sing, “Going 75 in a 45, da da da.” And while it’s not exactly “Somewhere Over Laredo”, the improvised tune apparently got the job done.
Wilson often speaks of her small-town country upbringing. During a recent appearance on the No Filter podcast, she talked about the pros and cons of living in a tight-knit community where “everybody knows everybody.
“It’s like, the best thing and the worst thing … it’s like they’re there when you need ’em, and they’re there when you don’t,” she said. “They’re just there.”
She Has Big Plans—And Not All Involve Music
Professionally, Lainey Wilson is at the top of her game, selling out arenas and racking up awards. However, music isn’t her only priority.
In her new Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool, the 16-time ACM Award winner revealed that she chose to freeze her eggs before her now-fiancé, Devlin “Duck” Hodges, popped the question last February.
The couple had been dating for more than two years before Wilson publicly revealed their relationship in May 2023.
“I think I’d make a great mama, and I think there needs to be more people in the world like Duck,” she said. “So [parenthood] is definitely a dream of ours.”
Don’t take this to mean that her career is currently on hold, however. Wilson is gearing up for her headlining debut at Stagecoach this weekend, and she’s planning to give the audience an experience they won’t soon forget.
“We talking, like, your girl’s never done pyro. I’m doing pyro,” she told John Mayer.
Featured image by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Netflix
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