Photo: Eric Ryan Anderson
Lainey Wilson said she encapsulates her recent years of growth — including renewed perspectives on love, life, loss and more — in her long-awaited new album.
The reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year delivered her new record, Whirlwind, on Friday (August 23). Wilson described the album as the “Western sister” of her most recent full-length project, Bell Bottom Country. Whirlwind displays Wilson’s sharp songwriting skill, and blends elements of several genres of music (including ‘70s rock, soul and more) while remaining country to its core. Wilson also marked her album release day by premiering a music video directed by Dustin Haney, bringing the title track to life with a whirlwind onscreen romance. The singer-songwriter described “Whirlwind” as a song “about the kind of love that sweeps you off your feet and makes your heart race but also makes you feel grounded, protected, and safe. You know what I mean?” Watch the video below.
“I’ve been trying to sit down for a while now and talk about what this record means to me but the truth is I feel like this record says it all. I’ve grown so much in the past few years and I have such a different view of love and life and loss,” Wilson said in a statement when Whirlwind made its debut, and hours before she premiered the music video for the album’s title track. “The highs and lows of the whirlwind have taught me a lot about what’s important and how to never give up on trying to find your inner peace. I think you’ll hear what I mean when you listen. Hope it means something to you, too.
“Whirlwind is kind of the Western sister of Bell Bottom Country,” Wilson added in a press release issued Friday morning. “Since that album, I have gotten to experience so many new things and meet folks from different walks of life. Because of that, I’ve become a better songwriter, and I have more understanding. I feel like I’ve truly stepped into what it is that I’m called to be doing. Ironically, I found my path within all the craziness—and that’s the whirlwind.”
The Jay Joyce-produced album includes “Hang Tight Honey,” “4x4xU,” “Good Horses” with Miranda Lambert and “Country’s Cool Again,” the anthem that inspired the name of Wilson’s ongoing headlining tour. Wilson teamed up with frequent collaborators — including Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, band leader Aslan Freeman and others — to write each of the 14 tracks on Whirlwind:
1. Keep Up With Jones (Lainey Wilson, Josh Kear, Wyatt McCubbin)
2. Country’s Cool Again (Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Aslan Freeman)
3. Good Horses (feat. Miranda Lambert) (Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick)
4. Broken Hearts Still Beat (Lainey Wilson, Dallas Wilson, Josh Thompson, Blake Pendergrass)
5. Whirlwind (Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson)
6. Call A Cowboy (Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson)
7. Hang Tight Honey (Lainey Wilson, Driver Williams, Jason Nix, Paul Sikes)
8. Bar In Baton Rouge (Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Kasey Tyndall, Jason Nix)
9. Counting Chickens (Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Josh Kear, Dallas Wilson, Jon Decious)
10. 4x4xU (Lainey Wilson, Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere)
11. Ring Finger (Lainey Wilson, Aaron Raitiere, Marti Dodson, Jon Decious)
12. Middle Of It (Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson)
13. Devil Don’t Go There (Lainey Wilson, Abram Dean, Lance Miller, Joe Fox)
14. Whiskey Colored Crayon (Lainey Wilson, Josh Kear, Wyatt McCubbin)
Whirlwind is Wilson’s highly-anticipated follow-up to Bell Bottom Country, her 2022 record that scored the Baskin, Louisiana-born country star her first Grammy Award. The Grand Ole Opry member originally released Bll Bottom Country as a 14-track collection with “Watermalon Moonshine,” “Grease,” “Hold My Halo,” “Heart Like A Truck,” “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” and other highlights. Wilson expanded that album with two additional tracks — “New Friends” and “Smell Like Smoke” — after making her acting debut on Yellowstone. Since then, Wilson has continued working on other projects, including collaborating with Post Malone on his hotly-anticipated country album, and writing a ballad for the hit summer movie, Twisters.
Wilson said in an interview with iHeartCountry last year that “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. 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,” she said as she sat with iHeartCountry on a barstool at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, a historic honky tonk on Lower Broadway in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
“It's cool to be able to write your story and your truth and get vulnerable and have people appreciate that. …The truth is, I mean, preparing for something like that is really scary,” she added later in that interview, when asked about observing how audiences receive her music after spending so much time writing and recording it. “You're like, 'well, I mean, all I can do is do what I do and hope that folks like it.' But it seems like I just keep on getting surprised, and people are finding little pieces in each song to connect to and relate to. And a lot of people have shared their stories with me on why they love each song and why it means something different to them. And that's what country music's about. It's about making people feel like they're not alone. And I've known from a very early age that I was supposed to be doing this, and it feels really nice to just be embraced.”
Wilson will celebrate Whirlwind’s release with an exclusive, intimate performance and Q&A hosted by iHeartRadio’s Wayne D. The iHeartCountry Album Release Party with Lainey Wilson will take place on August 26th at 10pm ET/7pm PT. Fans can tune in via the iHeartCountry YouTube channel, as well as on iHeartRadio's iHeartCountry Radio station.
Find the full Whirlwind album on iHeartRadio here. Listen to a few of the songs here, and see Wilson's list of confirmed upcoming tour stops below.
“Keep Up With Jones”
LAINEY WILSON CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
August 23—Chula Vista, CA—North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 24—Concord, CA—Toyota Pavilion at Concord (SOLD OUT)
September 1—Los Angeles, CA—The Greek Theatre (SOLD OUT)
September 13—West Valley City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
September 14—Nampa, ID—Ford Idaho Center Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
September 15—Missoula, MT—University of Montana – Adams Center (SOLD OUT)
September 19—Fresno, CA—Save Mart Center (SOLD OUT)
September 20—Stateline, NV—Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys (SOLD OUT)
September 21—Stateline, NV—Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys (SOLD OUT)
September 26—Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena (SOLD OUT)
September 27—Auburn, WA—White River Amphitheatre
September 28—Ridgefield, WA—RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater (SOLD OUT)
October 4—Winnsboro, SC—Field & Stream Fest
October 5—Ocean City, MD—Country Calling Festival (SOLD OUT)
October 10—Lubbock, TX—United Supermarkets Arena
October 11—Durant, OK—Choctaw Casino (SOLD OUT)
October 18—Raleigh, NC—Red Hat Amphitheater (SOLD OUT)
October 19—Alpharetta, GA—Ameris Bank Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
October 20—Wilmington, NC—Live Oak Bank Pavilion (SOLD OUT)
October 24—London, ON—Budweiser Gardens (SOLD OUT)
October 25—Oshawa, ON—Tribute Communities Centre (SOLD OUT)
October 26—Pittsburgh, PA—Petersen Events Center (SOLD OUT)
November 1—Little Rock, AR—Simmons Bank Arena
November 2—Evansville, IN—Ford Center (SOLD OUT)
November 3—Charleson, WV—Charleston Coliseum (SOLD OUT)
November 7—Oklahoma City, OK—Paycom Center (SOLD OUT)
November 8—Ohama, NE—CHI Health Center (SOLD OUT)
November 9—Sioux Falls, SD—Denny Sanford Premier Center (SOLD OUT)
November 15—Monroe, LA—Monroe Civic Center (SOLD OUT)
November 16—Monroe, LA—Monroe Civic Center (SOLD OUT)
December 14—Las Vegas, NV—MGM Grand Arena
May 30, 2025—Panama City Beach, FL—Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam
June 27, 2025—Cadott, WI—Country Fest
July 12, 2025—Cavendish, PEI—Cavendish Beach Music Festival