Lainey Wilson: Tough as Nails opens this summer
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will explore the life and career of hitmaking artist and songwriter Lainey Wilson in a new exhibition, Lainey Wilson: Tough as Nails. Tracing Wilson’s story from her upbringing on her family’s farm in Baskin, Louisiana, to her rise to global fame, the exhibit will be open from July 18th until June 2026 and is included with museum admission.
“It’s a dream come true to have my own exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and such an incredible honor to be included next to so many of my heroes and legendary artists,” states Wilson. “These past few years have been a complete whirlwind, and it’s going to be really amazing to see the whole journey captured in the exhibit, along with some special items from growing up in Louisiana. I can’t wait to see how it turned out and for my family, friends and fans to check it out.”
In support of the exhibit, there will be a Songwriter Session with Aaron Raitiere and Jon Decious in the museum’s Ford Theater. The museum will hold several programs throughout the life of the exhibit, including arts and crafts programming for families. Visitors can find more information on upcoming programming on the museum’s website.
The exhibit will include stage wear, instruments, photographs, childhood memorabilia and more.
Wilson grew up in Baskin, Louisiana, a farming community in Franklin Parish in the northeastern part of the state, riding horses and four-wheelers and swimming in nearby Big Creek with her older sister. Wilson envisioned a career as a country artist and started working to make it happen from a young age, singing publicly for the first time at her kindergarten graduation and writing songs for fun by the time she was 10. As a teenager, she learned how to handle herself in front of audiences through performances, pageants, and local talent competitions.
In addition to writing her songs, Wilson spent her teenage years impersonating fictional pop superstar Hannah Montana, played in the Disney television series by Miley Cyrus, and booking herself under her name as Montana’s opening act.
In 2011, Wilson moved to Nashville. Her one connection to the country music business was Jerry Cupit, a family friend from Franklin Parish who became her producer, a songwriting partner, and a mentor. His death in 2014 left Wilson’s future in Nashville uncertain, but she refused to give up. In 2015, she met Mandelyn Monchick, who advocated for Wilson as a friend before officially becoming her manager and introduced Wilson to Aslan Freeman, now her bandleader.
Wilson signed a song-publishing contract at Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2017 and a recording contract with BBR Music Group’s Broken Bow Records one year later. She enjoyed several early-career wins in 2019 and made her Grand Ole Opry debut in February 2020, but her debut single was not a hit, and she struggled financially. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Wilson focused on building an online following. Her next single, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” became her first country radio No. 1, ten years after she moved to Nashville.
Wilson has continued her success with a chart-topping mix of solo songs and high-profile duets that have made her a near-constant presence on country radio. At the 2023 CMA Awards, she won five trophies and became the first woman to win Entertainer of the Year since Taylor Swift in 2011. Wilson is the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year two years running.
