Channeling her inner Dorothy Gale.
With her new single, “Somewhere Over Laredo,” Lainey Wilson is transporting fans to a magical place in Texas. A few weeks ago, Wilson began teasing this song that nods to Judy Garland’s signature song, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz. The dreamy piano ballad instantly caught the attention of fans, but given that Wilson is not far off the heels of her last record’s release, Whirlwind, no one was expecting to be gifted the song this soon.
And it’s because the 2-time ACM Entertainer of the Year has a larger project up her sleeve. “Somewhere Over Laredo” will appear on Whirlwind Deluxe, which will be available everywhere August 22nd. While it’s not yet disclosed if any other new songs will appear on the deluxe edition of the record, “Somewhere Over Laredo” highlights her powerful storytelling and has fans excited for what’s in store come August.
Wilson shared on Instagram what inspired the song today, coinciding with the single’s release.
“When I’m flying between shows I catch myself looking out the window, talking to God, dreaming, or even reminiscing. ‘Somewhere Over Laredo’ tells a story that speaks to that. I’ve always been inspired by putting myself into other peoples’ shoes and telling stories from others’ perspective, but I’ve found a new creative avenue with this one putting myself back into a pair of shoes that I wore years ago.”
The ballad written by Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, and Andy Albert was written to paint a picture of those small-town love stories all across the country (even though Laredo has a quarter million people in it). The narrator has made it out of the West Texas border town, but often finds herself reminiscing and dreaming about the love she found there. Although they were star-crossed lovers and didn’t work out, she looks back at their time together in dive bars and at rodeos fondly, wishing sometimes that she could return to that simple life.
“Somewhere over Laredo
Dreaming about those rodeo nights
Laid there on the banks of the Rio
New silver buckle on your jeans next to mine
Couple wrong for each other, lone star-crossed lovers
Born to get gone from the get-go
But you’re on my mind every time I’m chasing this neon rainbow
Somewhere over Laredo…”
The charming and whimsical story hooks listeners in after the first verse.
The piano-driven melody of the song is one of my favorite styles of music that Wilson does. Don’t get me wrong, I love her rocking numbers too, but these slightly dialed-back melodies allow for her vocals and skillful storytelling to shine.
After listening to “Somewhere Over Laredo,” Lainey Wilson has me daydreaming in the clouds. Turn this one all the way up.
LAINEY WILSON CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
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 18—Nashville, TN—Grand Ole Opry
June 20—Wildwood, NJ—Barefoot Country Music Fest
June 26—Milwaukee, WI—Summerfest
June 27—Cadott, WI—Country Fest
July 10—Ottawa, ON—Ottawa Bluesfest
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 12—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 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
