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Lainey Wilson embraces the resurgence of the country genre and lifestyle on “Country’s Cool Again,” her newly-debuted anthem that signals the next chapter ahead in her career. Wilson released the song, which takes on the same name as her 2024 headlining tour, on Friday (February 16).
Wilson announced the release date last week, days after winning her first-ever Grammy Award in the first year she attended the event. “Country’s Cool Again” was penned by the iconic ‘Heart Wranglers,’ Trannie Anderson and Dallas Wilson, and Aslan Freeman, Wilson’s band leader. It was produced by Grammy winner Jay Joyce, per a press release issued Friday in conjunction with the song’s debut. Wilson’s latest anthem is described as one that “highlights the revival of the Country way of life. Southern, but with her signature flare, the song bridges elements of Rock, Americana, and Country into an instant classic showcasing Wilson’s Western roots and upbringing.”
“I’m so excited for everyone to hear ‘Country’s Cool Again.’ This song is a welcome to everyone who’s wanting in on the Western way of life. For a lot of us, Country music isn’t just a genre, it’s our livelihood,” Wilson said in a statement. “Thank you to my amazing collaborators and my producer for helping me bring the idea of this song to life. Country’s Cool Again y’all!”
“Everybody wanna be a cowboy/ Drive a John boat whip a John Deere/ Everybody wanna backwoods front porch/ With a tub full of iced down beer/ Must be something in water flowing out of the holler/ Blue collar musta caught a new wind/ Doggone daggummit/ Didn’t see that coming/ Country’s cool again”
Wilson previously confirmed that she’s working on her third full-length studio album, following her debut with Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ in 2021 and her award-winning sophomore project, Bell Bottom Country, in 2022. Bell Bottom Country won CMA and ACM Album of the Year awards, in addition to scoring the Baskin, Louisiana-born artist’s first Grammy Award earlier this month. The 14-track album included “Heart Like A Truck,” “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” among other highlights, and Wilson expanded it with two new tracks — “Smell Like Smoke” and “New Friends” — as she made her acting debut on Yellowstone. She saidin an interview with PEOPLE last summer that as she’s working on Album No. 3, “I'm writing me some love songs now,” amid her romance with former NFL quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges.
Now, Wilson is gearing up for another whirlwind year, packed with tons of tour dates on the “Country’s Cool Again Tour.” She’s bringing Jackson Dean, Kameron Marlowe and Harper O’Neill on her international tour dates, and Ian Munsick, Jackson Dean and Zach Top will join Wilson’s U.S. shows. Wilson said crowds have already received “Country’s Cool Again” well, including months ago, when she delivered a sneak peek of the newly-released anthem when she first played the iconic Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Wilson posted a clip of that performance on Instagram on Thursday (February 15), and said, “we gave this one a lil test run at [Red Rocks] and she passed.”
“It kind of seems like once the stars started aligning, it seemed like they aligned over and over and over again, and it feels like we got lightning in a bottle,” Wilson said in a previous interview with iHeartCountry. “That's the best way that I can describe it. I will say that if it would've happened when I wanted it to happen, right when I first moved to Nashville in 2011 in my camper, I don't know if I would've been ready. And I don't know if I would've lived enough life to tell the kind of stories that I'm supposed to be telling. So, I believe timing is everything. …The truth is, just like every job. I mean, you get tired. We played a lot of shows this year. Last year I slept in my bed 15 nights. This year, I've probably been home about 30 nights total. But you just learn to deal with it, and you just try to keep both of your feet on the ground.”
Wilson is also nominated at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, alongside other heavy-hitters in the genre like Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and others. See the full list of country artists nominated here. Fans across the country will be able to watch the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards live as the show will be airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, April 1st from 8pm-10pm ET live/PT tape-delayed on FOX. The event will also be broadcast on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the free iHeartRadio app.
Listen to “Country’s Cool Again” here (language), and see Wilson’s list of tour dates below.
“LAINEY WILSON: LIVE” 2024 GLOBAL DATES
March 20th – Melbourne, Australia – Margaret Court Arena
March 22nd– Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavilion
April 17th – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Ulster Hall
April 19th – Glasgow, England – O2 Academy Glasgow
April 20th – Manchester, England– Manchester Academy
April 23rd – London, England – O2 Forum Kentish Town
April 25th – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg Max
April 29th – Cologne, DE – Kantine
April 30th – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theatre
May 2nd – Stockholm, SE – Nalen
May 3rd – Oslo, NO – Rockefeller Music Hall
“COUNTRY’S COOL AGAIN” DATES
5/31 – Nashville, TN (Ascend Amphitheater) *^
6/1 – Nashville, TN (Ascend Amphitheater) *^
6/14 – Camden, NJ (Freedom Mortgage Pavilion) *^
6/15 – Gilford, NH (Bank NH Pavilion) *^
6/20 – Saratoga Springs, NY (Broadview Stage at SPAC) *^
6/21 – Syracuse, NY (Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview) *^
6/26 – New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall) *^
6/28 – Bridgeport, CT (Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater) *^
6/29 – Bangor, ME (Maine Savings Amphitheater) *^
8/8 – Huntsville, AL (The Orion Amphitheater) *^
8/9 – Southaven, MS (BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove) *^
8/10 – Rogers, AR (Walmart AMP) *^
8/22 – Prescott Valley, AZ (Findlay Toyota Center) +^
8/23 – Chula Vista, CA (North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre) +^
8/24 – Concord, CA (Toyota Pavilion at Concord) +^
9/1 – Los Angeles, CA (The Greek Theatre) +^
9/13 - Salt Lake City, UT (USANA Amphitheatre) +^
9/14 - Boise, ID (Ford Idaho Center) +^
9/15 - Missoula, MT (University of Montana - Adams Center) +^
9/19 – Fresno, CA (Save Mart Center) +%
9/20 – Lake Tahoe/Stateline, NV (Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys) + ^
9/26 – Vancouver, BC (Rogers Arena) + ^
9/27 – Auburn, WA (White River Amphitheatre) + ^
9/28 – Ridgefield, WA (RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater) + ^
10/10 – Lubbock, TX (United Supermarkets Arena) + ^
10/18 – Raleigh, NC (Red Hat Amphitheater) *^
10/19 – Alpharetta, GA (Ameris Bank Amphitheatre) *^
10/20 – Wilmington, NC (Live Oak Bank Pavilion) *^
10/24 – London, ON (Budweiser Gardens) *^
10/25 – Oshawa, ON (Tribute Communities Centre) *^
10/26 – Pittsburgh, PA (Petersen Events Center) *^
11/1 – Little Rock, AR (Simmons Bank Arena) + ^
11/2 – Evansville, IN (Ford Center) *^
11/3 – Charleston, WV (Charleston Coliseum) *^
11/7 – Oklahoma City, OK (Paycom Center) + ^
11/8 – Omaha, NE (CHI Health Center) + ^
11/9 – Sioux Falls, SD (Denny Sanford Premier Center) + ^
11/15- Monroe, LA (Monroe Civic Center) *^
11/16 Monroe, LA (Monroe Civic Center) *^
* - Ian Munsick
^ - Zach Top
+ - Jackson Dean
% - To Be Announced