Lainey Wilson Says ‘Yellowstone’ Helped Launch Her Career
A few of Wilson’s songs were featured in the hit drama before she landed a recurring role on the show.
Lainey Wilson has quickly become one of today’s most popular modern country singers. She’s earned numerous awards, including Entertainer of the Year at the 2024 ACM Awards, and celebrated her first Grammy win for her album Whirlwind.
Obviously, she has experienced incredible success over the past few years. And if you ask Wilson, she credits Yellowstone as playing a significant role in helping her achieve her goals.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Wilson shared how the popular series played a key role in bringing her music to a wider audience.
Wilson said she first met Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan at a horse event he hosts in Las Vegas. They bonded over their love of horses, and a friendship began.
Soon after, Sheridan began featuring Wilson’s songs in the show starting in Season 2. To Wilson’s surprise, she admitted that it turned out to be far more impactful than she ever imagined.
“People would come to shows, even if it was a handful of them. They’d be like, ‘I found you through Yellowstone.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, these placements are doing something,” Wilson recalled.
Wilson’s friendship with Sheridan eventually led her to land her own character on the show. In the first half of Season 5, she made her acting debut as Abby, a local musician who becomes a love interest for Ian Bohen’s character, Ryan.
Wilson’s time on set was very meaningful for her. She says that working on the show reminded her of how she grew up.
“Growing up that way, and even putting my cowboy hat on now and putting my jeans on and being around horses or rodeo or whatever it is, I feel at home,” she said.
She also believes the show has been a cultural reset for country music and country living. The love for Yellowstone has brought a lot of attention to the cowboy way of life.
“It’s crazy to see how the Taylor Sheridan world has really contributed to everything happening,” she said. “It really did something for country music, and it did something for the Western culture in general.”
The love for Western dramas has proven to be strong, especially with the Taylor Sheridan series’.
Sheridan has built a franchise of successful shows, and while Yellowstone recently had its series finale, there’s no shortage of episodes for fans to enjoy.
His series Landman is currently airing, and fans can also look forward to his upcoming show The Madison, set to debut next year.
Additionally, 1923 just dropped a teaser for its second season. It has also been confirmed that an untitled spinoff following Yellowstone favorites Beth and Rip is in the works.
Maybe we will hear more of Lainey Wilson’s music in these upcoming shows!