In her own words, it’s safe to say that in the year since her last tripto the UK, Lainey Wilson’s life has become something of a whirlwind. After her triumphant performance at C2C festival last year, she’s toured the world, scooped the Best Country Album Grammy for her 2022 release ‘Bell Bottom Country’ and picked up five CMA Awards at last November’s ceremony, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year trophy. This week she’s been back over here on her first headline tour, culminating with two sold-out shows at Kentish Town Forum in London.
Accompanied by her four-piece band and clad in her trademark bell bottom pants and feathered hat, Wilson arrived on stage to loud cheers from the crowd and a twangy spoken word intro in which she declared “country is a state of mind” before launching into ‘Hold My Halo’. The ode to working hard and letting loose made for a perfect opener, with Wilson rocking out and name-checking London throughout. She had the biggest grin on her face as she span about the stage and danced alongside her bandmates, and it was an instant mood booster to see just how much she was enjoying herself.
One thing that struck me throughout Wilson’s performance was just how strong her connection to the audience is. Whether that was announcing her plans for “having a real good time [and] cutting loose” before the 70s-influenced swagger and stomp of ‘Hillbilly Hippie’, leading a crowd clap-along on the anthemic ‘WWDD’ or encouraging them to sway along to her version of 4 Non Blondes’ 90s hit ‘What’s Up (What’s Going On)’, she called on every. She also took time to read the signs held up by audience members and chat to them as she sat on stage signing their hats and shirts, before delivering a rousing speech on the power of positive thinking before her performance of the introspective, touching ‘Atta Girl’ – one of many moments where she reflected on her journey to get to this point. It’s clear the UK crowd love her and that feeling is very much mutual; she could frequently be seen looking up into the auditorium with an awed expression at their reception.
However, many of the strongest moments came in the more reflective songs, where Wilson’s vocals were able to shine. Her duet with opener Harper O’Neill on ‘Watermelon Moonshine’ was an early highlight, with the two of them delivering some gorgeous harmonies (as well as a very sweet hug and onstage chat beforehand) as the crowd lit up the Forum with their phone light, before delivering an acapella snippet of Deanna Carter’s ‘Strawberry Wine’ that drew enormous cheers. Elsewhere, ‘Wildflowers And Wild Horses’ gave her a chance to show off her vocal chops over its layered rattling melodies, soaring chorus and vivid imagery, whilst ‘Weak-End’ provided a softer, more bittersweet moment as she played her acoustic guitar and ‘These Boots’ – a warm, heartfelt yet punchy tribute to her dad – saw her deliver some impressive vocal whoops as she dashed from side to side of the stage.
That said, there was still plenty of space for Wilson to let her hair down, including rocking out with her bandmates on the likes of ‘Smell Like Smoke’ with its bluesy twang and bucketloads of sass and ‘Rolling Stone’, which saw her guitarist Kevin deliver a solo that was as face-melting as she’d promised it would be. She absolutely threw herself into the performance – literally in some cases, such as the dramatic drop to her knees on the slinky, funky ‘Grease’ – and could have kept every light in the building on with her sheer enthusiasm.
After a mash-up of her Hardy collaboration ‘Wait In The Truck’ with her own hit ‘Heart Like A Truck’ – which saw her hit an absolute enormous note – Wilson briefly left the stage before the crowd’s demands brought her back for a four-song encore. She kicked off with a solo acoustic snippet of ‘Save Me’, her recent collaboration with Jelly Roll, before going into a full band version of her dramatic, sweeping duet with Cole Swindell, ‘Never Say Never’. Although the two songs are very different, they really highlight Wilson’s strengths as a vocalist and her ability to turn her hand to anything. To close the show, she performed her playful, bouncy new single ‘Country’s Cool Again’ and ‘Things A Man Oughta Know’, arguably her breakthrough hit. To me that summed up the night with its wry, knowing yet honest lyrics, a full voiced crowd singalong and another massive note from Wilson. She placed her hand over her heart in gratitude as the audience rose to their feet to give her a standing ovation before tossing picks into the audience, and it was a really uplifting moment to end the night on.
Overall Lainey Wilson delivered an absolute triumph of a performance that never let up in the energy stakes and shows exactly why she’s CMA Entertainer of the Year. Her warm, engaging stage presence and absolute powerhouse vocals are a winning combination, and it’s an utter joy to watch her spinning around on stage and jamming out with her band. Midway through the show she declared “keep showing up for me and I’ll keep showing up for y’all”, and I’m already excited to have her back over here as soon as possible – hopefully in much bigger venues and with some new music under her rhinestone belt…
Set list: 1. Hold My Halo 2. Hillbilly Hippie 3. Road Runner 4. WWDD 5. Smell Like Smoke 6. Watermelon Moonshine (with Harper O’Neill) 7. Strawberry Wine (Deanna Carter cover) 8. Wildflowers And Wild Horses 9. Weak-End 10. Atta Girl 11. Those Boots (Deddy’s Song) 12. Grease 13. Rolling Stone 14. What’s Up (What’s Going On) (4 Non Blondes cover) 15. Wait In The Truck / Heart Like A Truck Encore: 16. Save Me 17. Never Say Never 18. Country’s Cool Again 19. Things A Man Oughta Know Performance date: 23rd April 2024
