Photo: Eric Ryan Anderson
Lainey Wilson stepped into a new role as a meteorologist to track a gnarly whirlwind (and reveal details about her headlining world tour) on Friday morning (January 31).
The Grammy Award-winning superstar shared a creative video to announce the “Whirlwind World Tour.” Wilson staged a fictitious weather report featuring the special guests appearing on the tour: ERNEST, Muscadine Bloodline, Kaitlin Butts, Maddox Batson, Drake Milligan, Lauren Watkins and Zach Meadows.
Wilson, who delivered a stunning ballad on the star-studded Twisters soundtrack, said as she kicked off her weather report, “life is a whirlwind. But I’ll tell you what, what you’re about to see here is a breeze. Y’all know the crazy winds that have been whipping up in Europe? Well, that’s right. They are headed due west right here to America. Our radar indicates they’ll be landing in Phoenix, Arizona, which is usually party sunny. Excuse me. Partly sunny. let’s go there now with everyone’s favorite weatherman. Ern? You there?”
ERNEST appeared on screen, appearing to deliver his report from Phoenix, where he found himself in an uncharacteristic, “hectic” storm. “Turns out, it is not a good day for Flower Shops,” he said as Wilson said in the news studio. She predicted the whirlwinds moving at “a daredevil speed,” and “cutting’ through a Texas town — or three,” as she embarks on the “Whirlwind World Tour.” Other tour openers appear in a breaking news update, identifying four suspects accused of noise complaints (Butts, Batson, Milligan and Watkins).
Wilson’s upcoming tour is titled after her latest full length album, Whirlwind. The reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year delivered the highly-anticipated record in August 2024, featuring “Country’s Cool Again,” “Good Horses” with Miranda Lambert, “Whirlwind,” “Hang Tight Honey,” “Counting Chickens,” “4x4xU” and more. The album followed 2022’s Bell Bottom Country, which scored Wilson her first Grammy last year.
“I’ve been trying to sit down for a while now and talk about what this record means to me but the truth is I feel like this record says it all. I’ve grown so much in the past few years and I have such a different view of love and life and loss,” Wilson said when Whirlwind made its debut. “The highs and lows of the whirlwind have taught me a lot about what’s important and how to never give up on trying to find your inner peace. I think you’ll hear what I mean when you listen. Hope it means something to you, too.
“Whirlwind is kind of the Western sister of Bell Bottom Country,” Wilson added in a press release at the time. “Since that album, I have gotten to experience so many new things and meet folks from different walks of life. Because of that, I’ve become a better songwriter, and I have more understanding. I feel like I’ve truly stepped into what it is that I’m called to be doing. Ironically, I found my path within all the craziness—and that’s the whirlwind.”
Tickets to Wilson’s tour will be available to the general public at 10 a.m. local time on Friday, February 7. Watch Wilson’s announcement here, and see the list of dates below.
LAINEY WILSON CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
BOLD on-sale February 7 at 10:00am local time
March 4—Zurich, CH—X-TRA~
March 6—Antwerp, BE—De Roma~
March 8—Rotterdam, NL—Rotterdam Ahoy
March 9—Berlin, DE—Uber Eats Music Hall
March 12—Copenhagen, DK—Vega Main~
March 14—London, UK—O2 Arena
March 15—Belfast, N. Ireland—SSE Arena
March 16—Glasgow, Scotland—The SSE Hydro
March 18—Kingston upon Thames, UK—Banquet Records
March 19—Paris, FR—Elysée Montmartre~
May 30—Panama City Beach, FL—Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam
May 31—Lexington, KY—Railbird Festival
June 6—Myrtle Beach, SC—Carolina Country Music Fest
June 20—Wildwood, NJ—Barefoot Country Music Fest
June 26—Milwaukee, WI—Summerfest
June 27—Cadott, WI—Country Fest
July 12—Cavendish, PEI—Cavendish Beach Music Festival
August 14—Phoenix, AZ—Footprint Center*
August 15—Albuquerque, NM—Isleta Amphitheater*
August 16—Denver, CO—Ball Arena*
August 21—Bend, OR—Hayden Homes Amphitheater*
August 22—Sacramento, CA—Golden 1 Center*
August 23—Los Angeles, CA—Kia Forum*
August 28—Calgary, AB—Scotiabank Saddledome*
August 29—Edmonton, AB—Rogers Place*
August 30—Saskatoon, SK—SaskTel Centre*
September 11—Baton Rouge, LA—Raising Cane’s River Center†
September 13—Bossier City, LA—Brookshire Grocery Arena†
September 18—Austin, TX—Moody Center‡
September 19—Fort Worth, TX—Dickies Arena‡
September 20—Houston, TX—The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman ‡
September 25—Toronto, ON—Budweiser Stage§
September 26—Clarkston, MI—Pine Knob Music Theatre§
September 27—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena§
October 2—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena||
October 3—Noblesville, IN—Ruoff Music Center§
October 4—Cleveland, OH—Blossom Music Center§
October 9—Columbia, MD—Merriweather Post Pavilion§
October 10—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden§
October 11—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center§
October 16—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casio Amphitheatre||
October 17—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena||
October 18—Saint Paul, MN—Xcel Energy Center||
October 24—Knoxville, TN—Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center#
October 25—Charlotte, NC—Spectrum Center#
November 7—Tampa, FL—Amalie Arena#
November 8—Orlando, FL—Kia Center#
~with special guest Zach Meadows
*with special guests ERNEST and Kaitlin Butts
†with special guests ERNEST and Maddox Batson
‡with special guests Muscadine Bloodline and Drake Milligan
§with special guests Muscadine Bloodline and Lauren Watkins
||with special guests Muscadine Bloodline and Maddox Batson
#with special guests ERNEST and Drake Milligan