Lainey Wilson will perform at the 2025 ACM Awards with two of her musical heroes. The “Bell Bottoms Up” singer will perform a brand-new song, “Trailblazer,” with Reba McEntire and Miranda Lambert during the live show.
“I’m so excited,” Wilson gushes to Country Now. “Reba had the idea to try to do a song together. Me, Miranda and Brandy Clark got together and we just started talking about the history of country music, and how the females have stuck together, and kind of just blazed those trails, and went down with the weed whackers and done whatever they could to help the next person up. And I owe it to them. I do. They’re two of the ladies that have really been just willing to share any kind of wisdom with me and lift me up and encourage me, and that’s what it’s about. So it’s not just a song for people in the music industry. This is a song for just people in general who feel like they are paving paths for others.”
Wilson doesn’t know how the performance will go, but she says their rehearsal was emotional for all three singers.
“We were all just trying to hold it together out there,” Wilson says. “All of us had tears in our eyes. It just felt, we could just feel the energy and we were also happy to be able to share the stage with each other. So I hope other little girls are watching at home and can just see that women who stick together get it done and that’s what it’s about.”
Wilson already has one trophy. The Louisiana native won the ACM Award for Artist-Songwriter of the Year, ahead of the live ceremony. Wilson was given the trophy by McEntire and Lambert.
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Wilson has learned plenty from her musical idols, but she’s also trying to pass on what she has learned to the new era of artists. Wilson is happy to share her wealth of experience with artists coming after, including Ella Langley, who is the most nominated artist heading into the 2025 ACM Awards.
“I could not be more thrilled,” Wilson told Everything Nash and other outlets, at a recent media event, speaking of Langley’s multiple nominations. “I could not be more excited to see it happening to a girl that just knows who she is. She shows up, and she rolls her sleeves up, and she is ready to kick down barn doors. You gotta have that spirit in this business. If you don’t have that spirit, there’s somebody behind you that’s going to have that spirt, and they’re going to knock down that barn door for you. So, she’s one of those.
“I would not be surprised if she comes in there with her broom and starts sweeping it up,” she adds. “And I’d be behind her with a dustpan … I was like, ‘Let’s go.’ I’m glad to see the community really taking notice in somebody who’s just got it. That’s a good feeling, especially as a female in the business. It’s good to see.”
Wilson had seven nominations heading into the 2025 ACM Awards, including one for the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, which she won in 2024.
“It don’t feel real, I’ll be honest,” Wilson admits. “It puts a lot of things into perspective. I don’t take it lightly. I don’t at all. It’s a huge honor just to feel like those 15 years of me being in Nashville, I feel like I’ve gained the respect of my peers who I love too. So that’s a good feeling.”
The 2025 ACM Awards will take place on May 8 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. McEntire will return to host the ceremony, for the second year in a row. The ceremony will stream live exclusively on Amazon Prime. More information is available at ACMCountry.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the ACM
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