Lainey Wilson: Tiny Desk Concert

Stephen Thompson | August 27, 2024 Lainey Wilson took a long, winding path to country-music stardom, beginning with a high school stint as a Hannah Montana impersonator. That path led the Louisiana native to a Grammy for best country album earlier this year — for her terrific 2022 breakthrough, Bell Bottom Country — and it continues with Whirlwind, which dropped Friday. Just days before the new album’s release, Wilson took yet another victory lap at the Tiny Desk, where she performed three songs from Whirlwind before closing with the first single from Bell Bottom Country, “Heart Like a Truck.” Though she and her band opened the set with two killer songs about romantic devotion, the show’s grabbiest moments — and the ones likeliest to go viral — came during the irreverent “Ring Finger,” a kiss-off song for the ages. (How we made it to 2024 without a banger containing the words “I got the ring / He got the finger” will have to remain a mystery.) The whole deeply charming set announced Wilson as a star with staying power. She’ll maintain a presence at the Tiny Desk, too: She left us her hat for safekeeping. SET LIST “Hang Tight Honey” “4x4xU” “Ring Finger” “Heart Like a Truck” MUSICIANS Lainey Wilson: lead vocals, guitar Aslan Freeman: guitar, vocals Tommy Scifres: bass, vocals Kevin Nolan: keys, electric guitar, vocals Matt Nolan: drums, vocals Sav Madigan: violin, guitar, mandolin, vocals TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Suraya Mohamed Director/Editor: Kara Frame Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Mitra I. Arthur Audio Engineer: Andie Huether Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer Photographer: Alanté Serene Tiny Desk Team: Maia Stern, Hazel Cills Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins #tinydesk #nprmusic #laineywilson