When she\u2019s home, which is not that often, Lainey Wilson lives in a modern farmhouse off a country road on the outskirts of Nashville. It\u2019s a long way from the camper trailer she lived in for her first three years in town, but it\u2019s not the kind of grand estate you might expect from one of the biggest names in country music. From the outside, it looks like a lot of the other houses in this part of Tennessee<\/a>\u2014practical, charming, connected to the land.<\/p>\n But when you step through the front door, the interiors tell a different story. The foyer welcomes you with shiny metallic wallpaper plus a leopard-print stair runner<\/a>. Two tall, gold-plated steer horns frame the fireplace, and an abstract painting of a cowboy is mounted over the dining room table. Her space is funky, colorful, and full of surprises. \u201cI always say that this house is kind of like the inverse of me because I feel like a farmhouse on the inside but a hippie on the outside,\u201d Lainey explains. \u201cAnd I feel like my house is a farmhouse but a hippie on the inside, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n In some ways, this rural getaway is a throwback to the farm she grew up on in Baskin, Louisiana, a tiny town of just over 200 people in the northeast corner of the state. Her father, a fifth-generation farmer, planted corn, wheat, oats, and soybeans and often worked from dawn to dusk. Lainey doesn\u2019t put in that kind of time on her Tennessee patch of land, but she has inherited the same work ethic, performing dozens or even hundreds of shows a year.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also been racking up plenty of awards lately, proving that her efforts have all been worth it. In 2024, she got a Grammy for her album<\/a> Bell Bottom Country, and a few months before that, she won Entertainer of the Year at the 2023 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. Her most recent album is called Whirlwind, which says a lot about what her life looks like these days. She had a recurring role in the fifth season of Yellowstone, her first acting gig, and in 2026, she\u2019ll make her film debut in Reminders of Him, adapted from the best-selling book by Colleen Hoover. Last year, she cohosted the CMA Awards, and on November 19, she\u2019ll be back to host them again. Her dance card, as they say, is full.<\/p>\n Photographer: David McClister; Wardrobe Styling: Raina Gir; Hair and Makeup: Afton Williams; Prop Styling: Colson Horton<\/i><\/p>\n In the midst of all this, Lainey graciously invited Southern Living into her home for a rare photo shoot and a recording of our podcast Biscuits & Jam. For the interview, we headed down to the basement, which feels like a cozy, kitschy speakeasy. There\u2019s a bar that\u2019s stocked with bourbon<\/a>, tequila, and moonshine and a couple of porcelain cheetahs guarding a cabinet full of old records. Like Lainey, the room doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously, and she made me feel right at home as we sat in a pair of plush chairs and started talking. Here are some excerpts from our conversation.<\/p>\n Sid Evans: <\/strong>How do you stay grounded when you have so much going on?<\/p>\n Lainey Wilson: <\/strong>Oh my goodness. Well, I will tell you this. I think the thing that has helped me keep one foot on the ground is just keeping my people close\u2014the ones that know Lainey and not Lainey Wilson. I go home to Baskin, and everybody\u2019s trying to stop by and see me. But it\u2019s not because of everything that\u2019s going on; it\u2019s just because they want to stop by and see me, you know? And just making sure that I\u2019m taking the time to do the things that make me feel like Lainey, the sister and friend and daughter.<\/p>\n SE: <\/strong>Talk to me about this space. Is this a creative space for you? Is this a retreat?<\/p>\n LW: <\/strong>For so long, I\u2019ve said, \u201cWhen I get a place of my own, I want to walk in and just see a bunch of different colors and feel inspired and creative.\u201d I write a lot of songs in this area. I get to look at these velvet paintings on the wall, I see Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton<\/a> over here, and I wanna feel inspired.<\/p>\n SE: <\/strong>You\u2019ve written songs in here?<\/p>\n LW: <\/strong>Oh, yeah. Most of the Whirlwind record was written either here at this house or on the road. When I\u2019m [in Nashville], I want to be here. I\u2019ve worked really hard on this house, and I\u2019m proud of it. And it\u2019s where I just feel really comfortable. My buddies will come over, and this kind of becomes a home for them too. We just enjoy ourselves, have a little drink at the bar, and try to take a swing at a song.<\/p>\n SE: <\/strong>Let\u2019s go back to Baskin for just a second. When you get home, what do you like to do first? What\u2019s on your priority list?<\/p>\n LW:<\/strong> Well, so it used to be going straight to Baskin first and seeing Mom and Daddy until my sister had kids. And now, I go straight to Monroe and see my little nephews, and then we all end up going to Baskin. And, man, we just love being outside. My horse turned 30 this year, so I think I just got my final ride on him. And there\u2019s nothing like driving down my hometown road\u2014and the highway they just named after me in Baskin.<\/p>\n SE: <\/strong>Well, that\u2019s pretty cool.<\/p>\n LW: <\/strong>Same place that I got a ticket when I was 15 years old. I was like, \u201cNana nana boo boo.\u201d But yeah, my granny lives like a mile from my parents. And I just go sit down with her for a little bit\u2014kind of catch up, take it easy, and do all the things that I grew up doing. Even this past weekend, me and my sister were cleaning my granny\u2019s house and just doing what we\u2019ve always done. And I don\u2019t know any other way.<\/p>\n SE: I<\/strong>t felt good, I\u2019m sure, to be just away from it all.<\/p>\n LW: <\/strong>For sure. It just reminds you what\u2019s really important. And this is all very, very important, [meaning] my job, but it\u2019s [also] very important for me to not put all my self-worth into what I do. I know who I am, the Lord knows who I am, and I try to live by that. I think it\u2019s always about just planting your feet where they are and knowing who you are, standing up for what you believe in, and keeping your people close. I mean, that\u2019s been my method to this madness.<\/p>\n SE: <\/strong>I wanted to [go back to] your horse real quick. His name is Tex, right? What was your connection to him, and what\u2019s your connection now?<\/p>\n LW:<\/strong> We grew up together, to be honest. When my daddy brought him to the house\u2026I was somewhere around 9, and this horse had never been ridden. And my daddy knew that I could hold on. He was like, \u201cAll right, climb up there.\u201d And so I remember the horse just bucking and acting crazy. And I just remember my mama [saying], \u201cPull back; pull back.\u201d And I\u2019m little, weak Lainey trying to pull back and hold on. And it\u2019s so weird because I feel like I have gone back to that moment in my life so many different times. I mean, I\u2019ve been in Nashville<\/a> 15 years now, and I think about the music business trying to throw me off at so many different times, and I just keep holding on and holding on.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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