To the deafening roar of a nearly sold-out NRG Stadium, Lainey Wilson expertly rode past the front row on horseback. An extended version of “Heart Like a Truck” played the country star out. This was her exit, but it felt like a show all on its own.
Long before her foray into the Nashville music scene, Wilson was learning to ride horses on her family’s farm in small-town Louisiana, even occasionally competing in rodeos. On Thursday, March 19, as the singer circled the rim of the stadium’s lower stands, waved to the crowd, and then thundered down the central field, out of the main entrance tunnel between the bucking chutes like a seasoned barrel racer, her riding skills were on full display. It was clear that Lainey Wilson was the real deal.
But the performer’s entrance was no less dramatic. Under the spotlight Wilson emerged in a striking ensemble. A black cowboy hat crowned her look, paired with a long tassel bolo tie and dark brown gloves adorned with sweeping, floor-length leather fringe. Metallic blue and bronze chaps layered over a pair of bell-bottom blue jeans matched a buttoned top of the same fabric. Every move sent the fringe swaying behind her.
The Louisiana songstress strummed an acoustic guitar and the opening chords of her brand-new single, “Can’t Sit Still”—released just a week earlier—washed over the arena. The song, a restless anthem with a hint of Nancy Sinatra, immediately hold the crowd’s attention.
“What’s going on RodeoHouston? We’re gonna have a dang good time!” Wilson announced. A driving, gallop-like drum beat marked the beginning of “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” from the singer’s 2022 album Bell Bottom Country. Lainey Wilson was so partial to bell bottoms that she has named an album, a song, and a recently opened Nashville bar and restaurant after them. Its name? Bell Bottoms Up.
Songs like “4x4xU’”and “Somewhere Over Laredo” from Wilson’s 2024 record Whirlwind were fun numbers for fans to sing along to. But ‘Atta Girl’ offered a special moment for a young rodeo goer named Presley Stewart who was crowned Lainey Wilson’s Cowgirl of the Night. “You are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, with those pigtails and those cowgirl boots…” Wilson affirmed. “This is our cowgirl of the night. Go on and make her feel welcome!”
It would be remiss not to highlight Wilson’s’ guitarists, Kevin Nolan and Aslan Freeman, who delivered some of the finest solos of this RodeoHouston season. Their playing was especially memorable during “Dreamcatcher” from Wilson’s 2018 self-titled EP, where Nolan riffed virtuosically over Wilson and Freeman’s accompaniment for what felt like ten minutes before they all joined for a spectacular finale.
Lainey Wilson finished off with three of her hits: ‘”Good Horses” Whirlwind, 2024), “Things a Man Oughta Know” (Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’, 2021) and “Heart Like a Truck” (Bell Bottom Country, 2022).
As the song “Good Horses” goes: Wilson doesn’t need a map, a road, or a fence. She certainly doesn’t need flashy pyrotechnics or elaborate stage props to put on a damn good show. The Louisiana native thrives somewhere between Nashville glamour and rough-hewn country storytelling. She can hold her own among the genre’s trendiest stars, but at her core, she’s an old-school songwriter—one who turns simple ideas into deeply resonant songs that connect with listeners. On RodeoHouston’s star stage, with the skillful accompaniment of her band, her songs truly come to life.