Concert Reviews
Wilson was polished as a new penny, with a voice reminiscent of Dolly Parton and a stage presence of someone who’s been doing this for 40 years.
It is no wonder that Lainey Wilson’s show is called Whirlwind, because that is exactly what she is. She is a force of nature in sparkles and fringe, and she blew through the Xfinity Center with her Whirlwind World Tour Saturday, Oct. 11 —actually, a bit more like a tornado.
From the time she opened with “Whirlwind” off her 2024 album by the same name, to the time she sat down with her bandmates three-quarters of the way through the show, she never stopped moving, twirling or swinging her signature fringe. And nobody swings fringe like Lainey Wilson.
She sailed smoothly from Whirlwind to “Hold My Halo” off her 2022 album Bell Bottom Country, then she spun back to Whirlwind for a duet of “Good Horses” with her opening act, Lauren Watkins. It was a lovely mix that sounded as if the two had been singing together forever.
Wilson slowed down a whisker for “The Devil Don’t Go There” and the popular hit “Watermelon Moonshine,” which this time had her harmonizing with a crowd of 10,000.
Wilson also urged the crowd to light up their cell phone flashlights during the song, which totally abolishes that organic feeling, when the crowd does it on their own when moved by a song — but it was still a pretty sight in the cool night. A little unseasonably cool for Wilson, who said she’d just left Nashville, where it was 95 degrees, but was loving autumn in New England.
Wilson coached the crowd more than once on how to wave or clap or react to a particular song, but it seemed to be more about participation than bravado.
She is a showman. Polished as a new penny, with a voice reminiscent of Dolly Parton and a stage presence of someone who’s been doing this for 40 years.
She isn’t shy and never hesitates, but she’s not a commander. With her glittery purple cape, leather halter top and her other signature style, bellbottoms, she is a natural, completely at ease in the world she inhabits, and she wants everyone to join and have as much fun as she’s having. And her band — they are definitely having as much fun as Wilson.
With Aslan Freeman on lead guitar, Matt Nolan on drums and at one point washboard, Kevin Nolan on guitar, dobro and piano, Tommy Scifres on bass and Sav Madigan on, well, everything — violin/fiddle, guitar, a little banjo and backup vocals — that band is fierce, playful and wildly in sync with Wilson. They also genuinely seem to like each other, which I’m guessing is true because they’ve played together since the beginning.
Lainey Wilson is a 12-year overnight success, give or take 12 months. She grew up in Baskin, Louisiana, population 157 (now 156 since she left, Wilson noted), learned to play guitar at 11 and hit Nashville in 2011 in a camper van.
Fame found her a mere nine years later when she had a breakout single with “Things a Man Oughta Know,” which she played late in the night. But not before reminding everyone just how country she is — as if they needed reminding. She is very country.
I’m not saying her music might not cross over, but all the backing tracks in the world will never hide that sweet country twang, nor would we want it to. It makes her, her, just like her Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat, which she seems to rarely take off.
When Wilson launched into “Country’s Cool Again” off Whirlwind she segued seamlessly into snatches of Vince Gill’s 1993 hit “Give Me One Last Chance,” Dwight Yoakam’s “Guitars, Cadillacs” and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark” before sailing right back into her own hit to show why she has always thought country was cool.
Kevin Nolan, looking more British rocker than honkytonk, played a strikingly beautiful and extended piano intro to “Somewhere Over Laredo,” giving Wilson time and cover in which to disappear. When she emerged on a pedestal rising some 15 feet into the air, singing that ode to Dorothy in the chorus while wearing a shiny silver cropped jacket with a veil off the back that reached to the floor, it never once seemed over the top. It was pure bellbottomed genius, and the crowd responded, as it did all night, in kind, on their feet with whistles and cheers and palpable affection.
Wilson called for more peace in the world with her sweet ballad, “Peace Love and Cowboys,” which, come to think of it, also has a nod to the Wizard of Oz with the line, “click your boots three times and imagine more …” I think I see a trend forming. She shared her love story (she became engaged early this year) with “Yesterday, All Day, Everyday” where she asked the crowd to be her redneck choir singing a series of nah-nah-nah-nahs. Then she ripped it up with a little guitar wailing of her own on the rowdy and fast “Hang Tight Honey.”
She also took the time to crown a young girl Cowgirl of the Night and jump into the crowd, sign hats and shirts and take selfies, all without missing a note during the raucous “Hillbilly Cowboy” where Kevin Nolan tore it up on guitar — and so did everyone else.
Freeman, Madigan and Wilson joined Nolan on guitar and Scifres on bass. It was a well-orchestrated, screaming guitar free-for-all that kept time with the pounding in your chest. I was wondering how they were going to pull out of the impressive guitar slide when suddenly they just stopped, which seemed like the only conclusion.
And with that, Wilson slowed things down for a more intimate gathering. Taking a seat on the catwalk, putting her somewhat amid her people, Wilson shared some of her story before singing what she called one of her favorite songs off Whirwind, “Whiskey Colored Crayon.” It is a sort of stereotypical country song that people who don’t like the genre might mock, dealing with a child’s view of his alcoholic father, who eventually sees the light and changes his ways. But country music is often about storytelling, and with Wilson’s deft handling, it’s the kind of beautiful story that people who do love country adore.
She also brought out Muscadine Bloodline, who also opened the show, for “Pieces,” a song they wrote together. It’s about the aftermath of a breakup, and it was a departure for Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton, who previously ripped through their opening set like they were on a racetrack. They were loud, fun and fast with some rocking guitar riffs whipping guitar picks into the crowd like rock stars. Seriously, I was a little worried someone might lose an eye.
When Muncaster and Stanton departed, Wilson was joined by her crew, Matt Nolan on washboard and Kevin Nolan on dobro, Scifres on upright and Madigan on violin for a little honkytonk-ish and oh so sweet number called “Counting Chickens.”
After the aforementioned “Things a Man Oughta Know” on the catwalk, Wilson took center stage again, rising up out of the floor for “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” off Bellbottom Country, moved swiftly into the wickedly fun “Bell Bottoms Up,” where Freeman showcased his crazy talent with a screaming guitar and worked her way to fan favorite “4x4xU” both off Whirlwind.
Wilson closed the show with her crazy popular “Heart Like a Truck” then disappeared into the floor with a wave.
Wilson is unabashedly country, old school but in a fresh way, exhausting to watch but also so much fun, and after two hours of hip swinging, swagger, you kind of want to be her. At the very least, I am feeling compelled to buy something with fringe. Purple. Sparkly. Fringe. (I already own the bellbottoms!)
Set List
- Whirlwind
- Hold My Halo
- Good Horses
- Devil Don’t Go There
- Watermelon Moonshine
- Country’s Cool Again
- Keep Up With Jones
- Somewhere Over Laredo
- Peace, Love, and Cowboys
- Yesterday, All Day, Every Day
- Hang Tight Honey
- Hillbilly Hippie
- Whiskey Colored Crayon
- Pieces (with Muscadine Bloodline)
- Counting Chickens
- Things a Man Oughta Know
- Wildflowers and Wild Horses
- Bell Bottoms Up
- Call a Cowboy
- Bar in Baton Rouge
- 4x4xU
- Heart Like a Truck
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