Lainey Wilson

Summary

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The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Guest: Lainey Wilson
Date: October 6, 2025

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Overview

In this lively episode, Stephen Colbert sits down with Grammy Award-winning country singer and songwriter Lainey Wilson. They discuss her small-town Louisiana roots, journey to Nashville, rise in country music, and her new album "Whirlwind." The conversation is rich with humor, warmth, and Wilson’s trademark authenticity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Lainey's Small-Town Beginnings

• Growing up in Baskin, Louisiana:
  • Colbert marvels at Wilson’s upbringing in a town of just 157 people.
    • Lainey jokes: “Maybe 156 after I left.” (05:12)
  • Tight-knit family atmosphere—"they’re there when you need them and they’re there when you don’t. They’re just there.” (05:19)
• Early musical influences:
  • Wilson credits country music and storytelling in her upbringing.
    • “When you’re from a town of 157, you live your life on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next story. … I wrote my first song at 9 years old.” (05:54)
• First performances:
  • Made her first $20 singing at 9 years old at a convenience store opening.
    • “My daddy still has got the $20 bill.” (06:44)
  • Favorite childhood candy: “Anything chocolate. Sign me up. Reese’s Cups, Hershey’s, all of it.” (06:50)

Rodeo Roots & Family Wisdom

• Singing at rodeos and riding horses:
  • Wilson and her sister were PRCA rodeo flag girls; she often sang the anthem on horseback.
    • “I was on a horse before I could walk.” (07:30)
• Home comforts:
  • “That’s honestly where I feel most at home, is on the back of a horse and on a stage.” (07:33)

Nashville Journey

• Move to Nashville:
  • Wilson lived in a 20-foot camper trailer for her first three years in the city.
  • Mentorship from Jerry Cupid, who helped her get started by letting her park in his studio lot.
    • “I was known as the camper trailer girl.” (07:51)
    • “I’ve been in Nashville for 14 years.” (08:35)
• Handling adversity:
  • On keeping faith: “I’ve always had this weird sense of faith about knowing that this is what I was gonna do no matter what... It’s my calling.” (08:48)
  • Wilson’s parents’ support stood out: “What’s so weird is, my parents are pretty realistic, you know?... But they have always also known that I was gonna do it.” (09:14)

Career Celebrations & “Whirlwind”

• First Emmys experience:
  • Performed on stage with hero Vince Gill for her first Emmys. (04:39)
• Album talk:
  • "Whirlwind" is the title of her deluxe album, reissued in August.
  • Title inspiration: “The last few years, I feel like country music is finally starting to love me back as much as I love it. And it’s been a whirlwind.” (09:36)
• Song performance:
  • Previews her song “Somewhere Over Laredo,” an interpolation of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
    • “If you say somewhere over the rainbow three times, it sounds like Laredo.” (10:06)
    • Inspiration comes from life on tour and reflecting while looking out airplane windows.
      • “A lot of song ideas happen… gave me an opportunity to step back into a pair of shoes that I wore a long time ago.” (10:18)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On songwriting at a young age:
  • Lainey Wilson: “I was writing about tequila and cigarettes and like everything else… Old soul.” (06:18)
• On the Nashville hustle:
  • Lainey Wilson: “I lived in it [my camper trailer] for the first three years I was there.” (07:51)
• On unwavering belief:
  • Wilson: “It’s more than a hobby. It’s more than a passion. It’s my calling. And I knew that at 9 years old.” (08:48)
• On new album’s meaning:
  • Wilson: “The last few years, I feel like country music is finally starting to love me back as much as I love it.” (09:36)
• Stephen's perspective on small towns:
  • Colbert: “That’s not a small town. That’s a big family.” (05:14)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:19] Lainey Wilson joins the show
• [05:06] Discussion of Lainey’s rural upbringing in Baskin, Louisiana
• [06:32] Early performances and first childhood earnings
• [06:58] Singing the national anthem at rodeos on horseback
• [07:42] Moving to Nashville, living in a camper trailer
• [08:48] Maintaining faith through adversity and parental support
• [09:28] New album “Whirlwind” and its inspiration
• [10:06] Description and background of “Somewhere Over Laredo”

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Tone & Style

The conversation is joyful, full of Southern charm, humor, and mutual appreciation. Colbert’s wit and Wilson’s authenticity drive the episode, making it both entertaining and insightful for fans and newcomers alike.

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Summary prepared for listeners who want all the heart and highlights of the conversation, minus the commercials and in-between banter.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, everybody. Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with nut meat. Okay. You know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios. The don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth, instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty smooth.

[Lainey Wilson]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Lainey Wilson]

We can't disparage the nuts. You.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.

[Lainey Wilson]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios.

[Lainey Wilson]

I love.

[Stephen Colbert]

I love crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?

[Lainey Wilson]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Lainey Wilson]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious. I get them.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Lainey Wilson]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Lainey Wilson]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Wonderful pistachios has every snack style covered. Right now. There's an obsession with jalapeno lime. There is an obsession session. It's almost a disorder. It's spicy, it's zesty. It's basically a flavor roller coaster in a nut. Snacking on the go. Grab a bag of no shells. Feeling contemplative and want to work for it a little. So earning it, they're saying if you want to earn your nut, crack open those in shell beauties. Either way, it's snacking like a champ. So the next time hunger strikes, don't hold back. Unless it's a hunger strike. And Then it's important that you do. Because whatever you're doing that for, I'm sure it's a worthwhile cause. Snack like you mean it with wonderful pistachios. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more.

[Lainey Wilson]

That was a wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Lainey Wilson]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Lainey Wilson]

No, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Lainey Wilson]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nut me, nut, nut me with nut meat.

[Lainey Wilson]

We're nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty. Good. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now, I don't know if you've heard, but Mint's Premium Wireless is $15 a month. But I'd like to offer one other perk. We have no stores. That means no small talk. Crazy weather we're having. No, it's not. It's just weather. It is an introvert's dream. Give it a try. @mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan.

[Lainey Wilson]

$15 per month equivalent required. New customer offer, first three months only, then full price plan, options available, taxes and fees extra. Cmintmobile.com it's the late Show Pot show.

[Stephen Colbert]

With Stephen Colbert, folks. My next guest tonight is a Grammy award winning country singer and songwriter with chart topping hits like Things a Man Ought to Know, Heart Like a Truck and Watermelon Moonshine. Please welcome to the Late show, Lainey Wilson.

[Lainey Wilson]

Man.

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, Nice to meet you.

[Lainey Wilson]

How you doing?

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm doing well.

[Lainey Wilson]

How are you? Thanks for having me.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's my pleasure. We almost ran into each other. You were just at the Emmys when we were out there. I dig this outfit.

[Lainey Wilson]

Thank you. Well, I was digging yours too. Cause I saw you from a distance.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, thank you. My wife was the sparkly one.

[Lainey Wilson]

That's amazing.

[Stephen Colbert]

Was this your first Emmys?

[Lainey Wilson]

First Emmys.

[Stephen Colbert]

Did you have a good time?

[Lainey Wilson]

I had a great time. I mean, to tell you the truth, never in a million years did I think I would be going to the Emmys. Playing on a stage with Vince Gill, one of my heroes, country music legend. Thank you. And it's been one thing after another. Now I'M getting to hang out with you and talk about some peace loving cowboys and all of the above.

[Stephen Colbert]

I like peace loving cowboys. That's a good bumper sticker. I like that you're from a small town in Louisiana. How small are we talking?

[Lainey Wilson]

157,000.

[Stephen Colbert]

157. 157.

[Lainey Wilson]

Maybe 156 after I left.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes. That's not a small town. That's a big family.

[Lainey Wilson]

That's a big family. 100%. It's like they're there when you need them and they're there when you don't. They're just there.

[Stephen Colbert]

Did you get away with anything as a kid?

[Lainey Wilson]

Absolutely not. That's why I turned out all right, you know? No, I'm so proud of where I come from. I come from Baskin, Louisiana.

[Stephen Colbert]

Baskland.

[Lainey Wilson]

Yeah, it's called the Vill Baskin.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. And where in Louisiana?

[Lainey Wilson]

Like the northeast corner of the Boot. If y' all have ever heard of Monroe, I'm about 30 miles south of Monroe.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right.

[Lainey Wilson]

That's where my family is.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. So how's a girl from a town of 156. 57. How does she get the bug to be in show business? Where does that come from?

[Lainey Wilson]

Oh, my goodness. Well, where I'm from, I mean, country music is just life. You know, we eat, sleep, and breathe it. And it was about the storytelling. When you're from a town of 157, like, you live your life on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next story. And that's how it was with my folks. And so I wrote my first song at nine years old. I felt like the voices on radio were speaking to me.

[Stephen Colbert]

What are you writing at 9 years old? What's the.

[Lainey Wilson]

I was writing about tequila and cigarettes and like everything else, like, I mean.

[Stephen Colbert]

That'S a fun town. That's a fun town.

[Lainey Wilson]

Old soul.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so. But now. So then you had your. How old were you first doing gigs? Like, performing just for.

[Lainey Wilson]

Oh, I made my first $20 at 9 years old for singing a cappella down at the grand opening of a convenience store in Baskin.

[Stephen Colbert]

9 years old. $20 goes a long way.

[Lainey Wilson]

My daddy still has got the.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's a lot of Candy.

[Lainey Wilson]

Got the $20 bill. I know. 100%.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. What was your candy as a child? What'd you go for?

[Lainey Wilson]

Anything. Chocolate. Sign me up. Reese's Cups, Hershey's, all of it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes. All right. Is it true that you used to sing at the rodeo?

[Lainey Wilson]

Yes, yes. So I grew up riding horses. Me and my sister, we were PRCA rodeo flag girls. We'd ride in with the flag. P A R C. A professional rodeo. So basically, like, we would ride in and I would sing the national anthem and.

[Stephen Colbert]

On the horse.

[Lainey Wilson]

On the horse.

[Stephen Colbert]

Harmonizing with a horse?

[Lainey Wilson]

Yes. You talk about scary.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's you and your sister?

[Lainey Wilson]

That's me and my sister.

[Stephen Colbert]

There you are.

[Lainey Wilson]

Yeah. My daddy always says, you know, work smarter, not harder. So.

[Stephen Colbert]

That'S nice.

[Lainey Wilson]

I was on a horse before I could walk.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Do you still ride?

[Lainey Wilson]

I do. I love it. That's honestly where I feel most at home is on the back of a horse and on a stage.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Yeah, well. So you moved to Nashville.

[Lainey Wilson]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Because that's what you do.

[Lainey Wilson]

That's what you do.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's the mothership.

[Lainey Wilson]

That's right.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so what was it like when you first got there? Was it as glitzy and as glamorous as you thought it would be?

[Lainey Wilson]

What do you think? Absolutely not. I'll tell you what. I didn't know what to expect, but I showed up in my little 20 foot Flagstaff bumper pool camper trailer, and I was known as the camper trailer girl. And I lived in it for the first three years I was there.

[Stephen Colbert]

Where did you pull up? Because those gotta go someplace. Where was the camper trailer?

[Lainey Wilson]

So there was a guy from my hometown. His name is Jerry Cupid, and he was my mentor growing up. He had some success with country music in the 90s, and my grandfather gave him a few hundred dollars to help him move to Nashville in the late 70s. So as a favor in return, he let me park my camper trailer literally in his parking lot of his studio. And that's where I lived the first three years I was there. So.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow.

[Lainey Wilson]

And I've been there 14.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Okay. You know, there's a lot of up and down in show business, especially when you're young and just learning the ropes. How do you keep the faith going?

[Lainey Wilson]

Oh, my gosh. Honestly, like, I've always had this weird sense of faith about knowing that this is what I was gonna do no matter what. Just, I feel like it's more than a hobby. It's more than a passion. It's my calling. And I knew that at 9 years old, I knew that this was my calling and I was gonna do whatever I had to do to.

[Stephen Colbert]

Was your family worried about you? That's what it was. Was your family worried about you?

[Lainey Wilson]

Here's the thing.

[Stephen Colbert]

Folks could not have been thrilled that you were living in a camper trailer.

[Lainey Wilson]

What's so weird is, like, my parents are pretty realistic, you know?

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Lainey Wilson]

But they have always also known that I was gonna do it. I'm just like. And they did whatever to help me do it, so.

[Stephen Colbert]

And you're doing it again. You got an album here. It's called Whirlwind.

[Lainey Wilson]

That's right.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's a reissue, a deluxe album. It was reissued in August. How'd you choose the name Whirlwind?

[Lainey Wilson]

That's what my life has been the last few years. I was like, dang. Whirlwind. No, I just feel like. To tell you the truth, y', all, I've been at this a long time. Like I said, I've been in Nashville for 14 years and wrote my first song at 9 years old. And the last few years, I feel like country music is finally starting to love me back as much as I love it. And it's been a whirlwind. That's what it is.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's nice when people notice your work.

[Lainey Wilson]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's nice. Congratulations.

[Lainey Wilson]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

What song. What song are you performing for us tonight?

[Lainey Wilson]

We're doing one called Somewhere Over Laredo, and it is an interpolation of Somewhere over the Rainbow. If you say somewhere over the rainbow three times, it sounds like Laredo.

[Stephen Colbert]

It kind of does.

[Lainey Wilson]

And, yeah, you know, the truth is, I spent a lot of my time in a plane headed to the next town, the next show, and I catch myself looking out the window and dreaming and reminiscing and talking to God, and it's where a lot of song ideas happen. And this song right here just gave me an opportunity to kind of step back into a pair of shoes that I wore a long time ago.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, so nice to meet you. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives. Now streaming on Paramount Plus. Someone is trying to frame us until our names are cleared we're fugitives from interval like Bonnie and Clyde with better snacks. Espionage, you still as good a shot.

[Lainey Wilson]

As you used to be?

[Stephen Colbert]

Their love language. We like to walk that fine line between techno thriller and romantic comedy.

[Lainey Wilson]

We make up our own rules.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ncis Tony and Ziva. Now streaming on Paramount Plus.

[Lainey Wilson]

Tulsa is my home now.

[Stephen Colbert]

Academy award nominee Sylvester Stallone stars in the Paramount plus original series Tulsa King. His distillery is a very interesting business. And we got to know the enemy from Taylor Sheridan, co creator of Landman what are you saying?

[Lainey Wilson]

I'm all right.

[Stephen Colbert]

If you think you're going to take me out, it's going to be really difficult. Tulsa King New season now streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.