Lainey Wilson recalls seeing Taylor Swift perform as a teen with 'hardly anybody in the crowd' - before becoming music's biggest superstar
Country music star Lainey Wilson has let it be known that she's been a fan of Taylor Swift since they were both young teenagers with dreams of hitting the big time.
In fact, it's a mutual love fest of each other's talents, considering Swift has also been open about being a fan of Wilson's brand of country music.
While making the rounds at the premiere of the new disaster film Twisters in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Country's Cool Again singer was honored to find out that Swift is a fan of hers, and that the respect has been mutual through the years.
'I actually watched her perform at CMA Fest on the Riverfront stage when she was probably 15. I was 14, and I remember just thinking, man, this girl's future is bright,' Wilson, now 32, gushed about the then rising star. 'And there was hardly anybody in the crowd except for me and my family'
Wilson added, 'And I got to tell her that. And she was like, 'There were, like, 16 people there.' And I said, 'Well, we were four of them.'
Country music star Lainey Wilson recalls seeing Taylor Swift at CMS Fest in Nashville, Tennessee, likely in 2007, when there was just 16 people in the audience
Wilson, now 32, moved from her hometown of Baskin, Louisiana to Nashville, Tennessee after graduating from high school to pursue a career as a country performer.
That's when the singer-songwriter got to catch Swift at the CMA Fest.
She left the festival inspired by Swift's performance, despite there only being a handful of people in the audience.
Wilson previously revealed how she was shocked to learn the 14-time Grammy Award winner was a fan of her music during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show podcast.
'I told her, I said [that] "I truly respect her. I think she is freaking awesome,"' Wilson told the host at the time.
The Yellowstone actress went on to share how impressed she is with the heights of success Swift has reached at such a young age, and how she's been able to sustain her connection with her millions of fans around the world.
'It's just so cool to see how she's done this,' the Never Say Never star said, before adding, 'I think she's just a boss. I got to see her show this past year and just left there feeling so inspired.'
Following her debut, Swift has since released 10 more studio albums, which documents her transition from country music to a hybrid of country-pop, to all out pop music, and her interest in more folkier style in more recent years.
Wilson was blown away by Swift and thought 'this girl's future is bright,' when she watched her perform as a teenager at the CMS Fest in Nashville in 2007 (pictured)
After telling Swift that she attended her show at CMS Fest in 2007, the Folklore star recalled, 'There were, like, 16 people there,' for which Wilson responded, 'Well, we were four of them'
On top of that, she has also re-recorded four of six planned albums as a way to own her own music after her fallout with Scooter Braun after he purchased her entire music catalog via Big Machine Records.
After being inspired by Swift as a teen, Wilson went on to release her self-titled debut album on Cupit in 2014, and is now poised to drop her fifth album, Whirlwind, on August 23.
The two stars have another parallel in that they both are currently dating football players.
Wilson only just recently confirmed her romance with former Pittsburgh Steelers and LA Rams quarterback Devlin Hodges, 28, who now plays in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Ottawa Redblacks.
As for Swift, she's been in a high-profile relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, 34, since September 2023.
The Yellowstone actress is impressed with the heights of success Swift has reached at such a young age, and how she's been able to sustain her connection with her fans around the world
The Louisiana native is poised to drop her fifth studio album, Whirlwind, on August 23
Wilson's ongoing Country's Cool Again Tour, which began in late May this year, will continue on in North America through December.
Also on the road, Swift will continue on with The Eras Tour in Europe until late August, and then come back to the U.S. for concerts in Miami, New Orleans, and Indianapolis before going to Canada to wrap up the tour in Vancouver.
The Eras Tour kicked off in the United States back in March 2023.
