Star rocks the Crystal Palace stage
Lainey Wilson is the new face of country music! The “Things A Man Oughta Know” singer performed to a sold out crowd at the world famous Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield on Thursday (Nov 17th) night and kept the crowd on their feet the entire night. Dressed in her signature bell bottoms (gold colored), western-style shirt and wool felt western hat, Wilson performed 20+ songs that included a mix of originals and covers.
Opening with “Hillbilly Hippie” from her newly released major label sophomore album, Bell Bottom Country, Wilson swayed back and forth across the stage with pure excitement and energy. The newly crowed CMA New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year rocked and rolled the stage all night as she interacted with the crowd, signing autographs, and taking photos.
“It’s been a big dang week for me and my crew and my team, my band,” she said. “We had the CMAs last week and it was the best night of my life, so we are still celebrating. And I can’t think of a better way than to celebrate with ya’ll tonight!”
After performing “Straight Up Sideways” and “WWDD (What Would Dolly Do),” Wilson meshed together four classic rock songs that had the crowd singing along. The medley started with Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” before launching into Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Traveling Band.”
Wilson covered a lot of ground with her new music. “Watermelon Moonshine,” a song that she performs in an upcoming season five episode of Yellowstone, received big applause. Earlier this year, she was cast as country singer Abby, a role that was specifically created for her and her signature style.
Despite Bell Bottom Country having been released three weeks prior to the concert, fans treated the new songs as if they were old. “Live Off,” “Road Runner,” “Those Boots,” “Weak-End,” “Atta Girl” and others had fans singing along.
It wouldn’t be a show in Bakersfield without some local connection. Wilson had the crowd rocking with a cover of Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink.” The final cover is the 4 Non Blondes song, “What’s Up (What’s Goin’ On)” that has become a staple of Wilson’s live shows.
The two biggest singalongs of the night were her newest single, “Heart Like A Truck,” and her debut record-breaking No. 1 single, “Things A Man Outta To Know.”
The night ended with an acoustic version of “Dirty Looks” and the rocking “LA” which is short for Louisiana, not Los Angeles. Sandwiched between the two, KUZZ presented Wilson with a Buck Owens red, white and blue guitar for being chosen as a Class of 2020 artist. Due to the pandemic, the concert was canceled and Wilson (nor the other artists) ever received the guitar.
“Lord have mercy! That’s pretty dang cool,” she says surprised. “My daddy’s gonna be jealous. He’s such a big Buck Owens fan.”
Wilson’s move to Nashville a decade ago has paid off tremendously. Honored as the 2022 CMT Breakout Artist of the Year, her meteoric rise to fame is well deserved. She was born a performer and will one day be named Entertainer of the Year.
