Lainey Wilson might be the hottest name in country music right now, but she remains the same farmer’s daughter from Baskin, Louisiana. The “Hang Tight Honey” singer recently revealed a surprising link to another country superstar, Tim McGraw, who grew up just 20 minutes away from her hometown in Start, Louisiana.
In a recent conversation with country icon Garth Brooks on his radio station, Tailgate Radio, Wilson shared stories from her roots to her rise in Nashville. The reigning Entertainer of the Year revealed, “Tim grew up right down the road from me. My step-grandmother used to actually babysit him. But I’ve never met Tim.”
Their chat covered a range of topics, from Dolly Parton to Keith Whitley, and Wilson’s admiration for her fellow Bayou State native. The conversation soon turned to Wilson’s industry heroes, where she gushed about Dolly Parton. “Of course, I love my Dolly Parton,” she said. “She’s one of the people that I go to… she’s done it all. She’s kept songwriting the main focus, but she has not been scared to step outside the box and try new things.”
Wilson then made a heartfelt confession to Brooks, acknowledging him as one of her childhood heroes. “I’m not saying it just ’cause you’re sitting here, but, I mean, you too,” she said. “The way that you have stayed true to yourself and you treat everybody with kindness. That right there, I think, goes the furthest.”
Reflecting on her journey, the “Yellowstone” star added, “It’s one of those things, you know everybody goes, you don’t want to meet your heroes. Everybody told me, they said meeting you would be a little different.”
Despite her skyrocketing fame, Wilson’s small-town roots and the connections she’s made along the way continue to shape her path in country music.
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