Lainey Wilson

It’s been a long time since I heard a crowd roar like this. Lainey’s just finished playing her 2022 single ‘Watermelon Moonshine’ and the place is going absolutely berserk. They’ve been cheering for nearly a whole minute. I mean, it’s a great song, but wow. Madness.

This atmosphere feels a lot different to when I first saw Lainey play. That was at C2C Festival, about five years ago, on one of the small, peripheral stages at The O2 arena. And, while she turned out to be the highlight of the entire weekend — I knew, immediately, she was the real deal — the audience’s response was more pleasant-surprise-at-discovering-someone-so-authentic than it was Swiftie mania.

Several months after that show, Lainey was back in the UK for The Long Road Festival (I think), and I managed to get a telephone interview with her. This backed-up everything I thought I knew about her as a performer and songwriter. She's exactly who she comes across as on stage. She’s legit.

Nowadays, Lainey isn’t just armed with hooky songs and perfectly southern turns of phrase, she also comes with a whole load of awards to back her up. In 2024, she’s a darling of the country scene. And tonight, at the Manchester Academy, her mass appeal is abundantly evident. Things are only going to get crazier for her from here on.

On the one hand, this makes me very happy. She deserves it. She’s true to her music, and true to herself. This is a girl who lived in a camper in a car park for three years, as she tried to realise her dream. She knows graft, and she’s put plenty in to be where she is. On the other hand, it all comes with some of the negatives that success brings — like seas of phone cameras blocking the view of the stage, and unhinged screaming in place of the music.

To be fair, though, the overall sound at the venue was a little too quiet for my liking, with or without the shrieking. In particular, the guitar levels were low. It was occasionally hard to make out the nuances of the music.

That said, her songs still managed to come through. They're too good not to. Standouts for me were ‘Wildflowers and Wildhorses’, ‘Heart like a Truck’ and ‘Things a Man Oughta Know’. Lainey’s at her best when she’s singing with conviction, but delivering it in deft, hushed tones. And those three tracks all showcase those elements.

Ultimately, Lainey deserves this success. She’s a great performer. She’s authentic. She’s humble. And she’s got plenty more songs up those sleeves, I’m certain. Next stop: stadiums. After all, country's going that way in the UK, and she's at the forefront of it all. You heard it here first.