Lainey Wilson: From ‘Yellowstone’ Soundtrack to Stadium Tours

Lainey Wilson is one country music star who knows about hard work and paying your dues. From being a Hannah Montana impersonator to living in a camper trailer in Nashville, what she’s enjoying right now is truly deserved. Her career underwent a complete transformation in 2019, following the release of her third EP, Redneck Hollywood. One of those significant changes is her music landing on Yellowstone, the hit TV series where cowboy drama meets cowboy hats you wish you owned.  

That break catapulted her from obscurity to opening for megastars like Morgan Wallen and eventually strutting away with the 2023 CMA Entertainer of the Year award, making her the first woman to snag the honor since Taylor Swift in 2011. With her signature “bell-bottom country” style, Wilson proves that sometimes the fastest way from small-town shows to stadium tours is a primetime TV song.  

Wilson knew what she wanted even at a young age, and she would stop at nothing to get it. She moved to Nashville in August 2011, at the age of 19. Even if she was repeatedly told she was “too country for country” by music executives, she wasn’t disheartened. She released her music independently, dropping her self-titled debut in 2014 on the Cupit label and Tougher in 2016 via Lone Chief Records. She persisted despite doors being “slammed in her face.” Thankfully, she managed to prove the industry’s earlier rejection of her authentic country sound to be misguided.  

Yellowstone became Wilson’s breakthrough moment. Her song “Working Overtime” was featured in Season 2 in 2019, followed by “Straight Up Sideways” and “Small Town Girl” in Season 3. Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the hit TV series, helped introduce her music to a wider audience, with the timing coinciding with her signing to BBR Music Group. The show became the most-watched cable series since the season eight premiere of The Walking Dead. Yellowstone’s Season 4 finale drew 9.3 million total viewers.  

With its popularity, country music artists, including Wilson, experienced the “Yellowstone Effect.” Ross Shifflett’s “Ain’t Got Much” went from approximately 20,000 streams pre-Yellowstone to nearly 200,000 streams post-placement (a 10x increase), and Shane Smith & the Saints saw dramatic increases in Spotify popularity, followers, monthly listeners, and social media following.  

Touring with Morgan Wallen helped establish Wilson’s live performance career. In 2019, she toured as a support act for Wallen, a partnership that came about during both artists’ rising careers. She performed a total of 62 concerts in 2019, including Wallen’s tour dates and her own, scheduled in major venues across the US and the UK, including London’s O2 Arena for the C2C Festival.   

2019 was truly an eventful year for Wilson. She was also included in CMT’s “Listen Up” Class of 2019 and “2019 CMT Next Women of Country” tour. This exposure helped build her fan base beyond Yellowstone viewers, gained industry connections from major tours, and positioned her for future headlining opportunities.  

Wilson’s breakthrough single success, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” capitalized on her Yellowstone exposure. The track reached #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart by 2021, as well as #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #3 on the Hot Country Song, making it her first #1 song.   

With lyrics, “How to know when it's love/How to stay when it's tough/How to know you're messin' up a good thing/And how to fix it 'fore it's too late,” the song resonated with audiences, leading to Wilson’s more touring opportunities. She said of the song, “We really spoke about all the things that we thought a man oughta know. The list was way too long, so we condensed it. We discussed my childhood and the things that my parents taught me growing up. This song is really about having good character.”  

“Things a Man Oughta Know” achieved Gold certification in the United States (500,000 units) and 2x Platinum in Canada (160,000 units). Wilson was also named Billboard’s top new country artist in 2021 after the song’s success.  

Wilson’s journey from Yellowstone to headlining tours represents a new pathway to country stardom. She became a trailblazer for female artists in the genre, a role that’s important given the stark statistics about female representation in country music. Her authentic country sound succeeding in the modern market is significant, since it demonstrates the power of persistence and staying true to your artistic vision.