Riding high on a successful year of hits and public appearances, Lainey Wilson brought her unique brand of country to a sold-out West Michigan crowd.

Lainey Wilson is having a moment. Specifically, she is having the latest moment in a series of increasingly successful turns that have stretched over the last 18 months (and counting). From her music to the stage, small screen, and beyond, Lainey Wilson has become a part of pop culture. You don’t have to know her music to know her name, and you don’t have to recognize her face to know her sound. She is everywhere.

But this didn’t happen overnight. Wilson has spent the last decade fighting for scraps in the margins of the Nashville music scene. She’s paid her dues several times over, and the culmination of her countless sacrifices is finally paying off.

On March 2, Lainey brought her Country With a Flare tour to the iconic Intersection music venue in Grand Rapids, MI. A sold-out crowd numbering over 1500 was there to greet her with tallboys, hands, and smartphones thrust into the air. The fashion was as hot as the room after rocking opening set from Ben Chapman, and the voices sounded as lovely as the heavenly chorus after four hours at a honky tonk with half-off well shots. 

The setlist focused on 2022’s Bell Bottom Country, but covered the entirety of Wilson’s career. Fans sang loud for the hits, and the true fans sang even louder for the deep cuts. Wilson took it in the best she could, but one could sense the energy of the moment was almost too much to bare. At one point, following a combination of “Wait In The Truck” and “Heart Like A Truck,” Wilson professed: “I swear to God, y’all. It’s like I’m watching my dreams come true right in front of my eyes.”

Given her upcoming arena tour alongside Hardy in the fall, it’s likely this run of performances mark the last time Lainey Wilson will be considered a club act, but she’s already far from it. Her band is tight, the songs are hot, and the message is clear: Life is best when its simple, but human beings aren’t simple. Take care of each other and protect your heart, but don’t be afraid to take a shot at what sets your heart on fire.