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ERNEST cherished “one of those nights” at the storied Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, a globally-recognized listening room that has hosted intimate performances by many of country music’s most beloved legends and rising stars.
On Monday night (June 17), ERNEST “finally got to sing” his duet with reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson. The pair teamed up two perform “Would If I Could,” which appears on ERNEST’s 26-track sophomore album that arrived in April. Wilson is one of several artists featured on the Nashville-born singer-songwriter’s massive project, along with Jelly Roll, Lukas Nelson, Morgan Wallen, HARDY, and a live-recorded performance of “Twinkle Twinkle” with ERNEST’s 3-year-old son, Ryman Saint.
“I was born and raised in Nashville,” ERNEST said in a statement when he released his album, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, on April 12. “I love this city, it's the country music capital of the world, and this album is a positive affirmation in the name of country music. That country at its core, the songwriting and storytelling, is popular again.”
ERNEST and Wilson performed during a songwriting round that also spotlighted award-winning songwriter Ashley Gorley (whose songwriting credits include hits by Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi, Thomas Rhett and many others) and genre-blending superstar Post Malone, who has been crossing genre lines into country music with recent collaborations and performances. Posty took the stage at the 59th ACM Awards earlier this year in Texas, and teamed up with Wallen and HARDY to perform a Joe Diffie tribute at the 57th CMA Awards in Nashville months earlier. He released a highly-anticipated collaboration with Wallen, “I Had Some Help,” and announced his next collaboration, “Somebody Pour Me a Drink,” with Blake Shelton, would arrive on Friday (June 21). They performed it during a surprise performance at CMA Fest earlier this month.
Watch a clip from ERNEST's performance with Wilson here: