Country Star’s Small Town Roots Ground Her Today: ‘I Have That Village’

Published: March 11, 2026

By Kayla DeKraker

Award-winning country singer Lainey Wilson recently reflected on her humble beginnings in Baskin, Louisiana.

“Where I’m from, it’s really just like a big farming community,” she said on the “No Filter” podcast. “Like my daddy farms corn, wheat, soybeans, oats. Very blue-collar town. We don’t even have a red light. We have a caution light.”

Wilson continued, “Everybody knows everybody. It’s like the best thing and the worst thing, you know? It’s like they’re there when you need them and they’re there when you don’t. They’re just there.”

Over time, Wilson grew to appreciate her tight-knit community.

“I grew up knowing how important like community really really was,” she said. “And even though now that I’ve been living in Nashville for 15 years, I really do still feel like I have like that village.”

Podcast host Kate Langbroek noted how some people might think that small communities are not welcoming, but that is simply not the case.

“My folks, especially, they’re the kind of people who would get a call in the middle of the night, and they’d go help the neighbor. I mean, they would give you the shirt off their back,” Wilson described. “That’s the kind of people that I’m from.”

Her love for music began at a young age.

“I was 9 years old and like I knew that I wanted to tell stories,” Wilson explained. “I just knew that. Like I wrote my first song at my best friend’s house. We were having a sleepover, and I went home and I told my mom, I said, ‘I wrote a song.’ And she’s like, ‘What in the world?’”

She added, “And I sang it to her and she’s like, ‘That’s not that bad.’”

Now one of country music’s top stars, USA Today named Wilson among their Women of the Year.

“When @laineywilson was 9 years old, she wrote a song called ‘Lucky Me.’ She still remembers every word,” USA Today wrote on Instagram. “Now her trophy shelf is stacked: 16 Academy of Country Music Awards, 15 Country Music Association Awards and a Grammy for best country album with ‘Bell Bottom Country.’ And that big dream she chased? She nabbed it just days after she turned 32, when she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.”

The post concluded, “Wilson is one of USA TODAY’s 2026 Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and beyond.”