Lainey Wilson never forgot the fan who’s been there since the beginning, showing up to her shows back when nobody else did.
Now, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year plays to sold-out crowds of thousands.
But she still took time to recognize her “day one” fan when she spied her in the crowd at a recent show.
Watch Lainey Wilson Meet a Fan Who’s Been There Since Day One
Wilson posted a video to social media documenting the special moment when she recognized the woman who’s been showing up for her since her early days.
“Lord have mercy, it is good to see you,” she says at the beginning of the video.
“You were literally there when nobody was there. I’m not even playing,” the singer continued.
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Wilson even took a break from playing to hop off the stage and give a proper hello to the fan, who’s been following her for so long that the two are basically friends.
“I’ma come hug your neck, first of all,” she said, putting down her guitar and making her way over to the front of the crowd.
“I mean, from the beginning, girl!” she said, as the fan wiped away tears and gave her a hug. “Remember when we played that casino and literally nobody was there, it was just you on the front row by the barricade?”
“I love you. Thank you,” Wilson added at the end of the interaction.
How Did Lainey Wilson’s Country Career Start?
Wilson put in years of sweat equity before her star began to rise in country music.
She’s spoken about her earliest shows, when she was a Hannah Montana impersonator and performed an opening set under her own name.
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Wilson came to Nashville in 2011 in her Flagstaff bumper-pull camper, where she lived for her first three years in town.
She didn’t sign her first major-label recording contract until 2018, and the next two years brought her first major releases and opening tour slots. Her breakout hit came in 2020, when she notched her first No. 1 single with “Things a Man Oughta Know.”
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes