"If People Keep Showing Up, I'll Keep Showing Up": Lainey Wilson Dishes On Her Upcoming Aussie Tour

Country music superstar and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson is heading back down under and this time, she's taking things up a notch. Following a sold-out run in 2024 and a head-turning performance at CMC Rocks, Wilson has officially announced she’s returning to Australia and making her New Zealand debut in 2026 as part of the next leg of her Whirlwind World Tour.

For fans who caught her last time around, the return can’t come soon enough and according to Wilson, the feeling is mutual.

“Honestly, we could not get back quick enough,” she said. “I was sad to leave, to be honest. Normally, I get a little bit homesick when I'm not at home with my dogs and things like that. And I'll tell you what, I was sad to leave, but we had the time of our life. We knew that we had made a lot of fans last time we were there, and I know that we've made a lot since. So it was important for me to come back and just put on a show and give the people what they want.”

And the 2026 return isn’t just a quick trip, it’s a full-scale tour. The Watermelon Moonshine singer will play Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand before heading to multiple cities across Australia. It’s a chance to not only reconnect with old fans but make a whole bunch of new ones.

“I always say that, you know, if people keep showing up, I'll keep showing up, and that's the way I feel about it,” Wilson added. “I can't believe that I'm going to be playing New Zealand. That's wild.”

It’s not just the sunshine that keeps pulling Wilson back, it’s the people. She spoke warmly about the crowds in Australia, recalling how connected she felt to them, despite being on the other side of the world from her Louisiana hometown of Baskin.

“When I looked out into the crowd, I felt like I was looking out at people from my town,” she said. “Watching them just sing the lyrics that I wrote, being from where I'm from, living the life that I live... it just puts a lot of things into perspective. We might have been raised on opposite ends of the world, but we really all do have a lot more in common than you think.”

The 2026 tour comes hot on the heels of the deluxe version of her Whirlwind album, dropping August 22. And yes, Wilson promises the setlist will reflect that.

“It’ll be a whole different set,” she revealed. “We always try to challenge ourselves. When I'm writing music, I try to make sure that the next song is better than the last. Of course we’ll make them have a dang good time, like last time, but it's important for us to bring a different show.”

The deluxe edition includes songs written during a pivotal time in Wilson’s life, when the dust was still settling from the whirlwind that inspired the album in the first place.

“These songs right here are me learning and trusting myself and just trying to figure out how to navigate all of this craziness,” she explained. “Because it is crazy, but it's the good kind of crazy.”

Joining her on tour will be two rising Americana acts Flatland Calvary and Kaitlin Butts both making their Australian debut.

“First of all, I'm just fans of them in general. So selfishly, I'll be side stage getting to just enjoy music,” Wilson laughed. “I love their songwriting. I love their storytelling. Big fans of them. And I wanted to just introduce them to a lot of people over there.”

Her current single Somewhere Over Laredo is climbing the charts in Australia and recently hit #2 on the country radio chart. It's quickly become one of her most impactful releases yet.

“I knew that song was special right when my co-writers told me the idea,” Wilson shared. “It was going to be a tip of the hat to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ which everybody knows. We wanted to capture that same feeling… I feel like this was just a good opportunity for me to kind of step back into a pair of shoes that I wore a long time ago.”

Despite its connection to a legendary classic, she wasn’t nervous about releasing it.

“I kind of had just a weird sense of peace about it,” she said. “We were trying to be respectful of that song while also telling a different story.”

Wilson also spoke candidly about the significance of being the first woman in over a decade to win CMA’s Entertainer of the Year, something she’s still wrapping her head around.

“I do feel like I'm doing it for the girls. I do,” she said. “But going into this, I never was like, ‘I'm doing this for the girls.’ I just was doing the only thing I know how to do, writing music, making things up, telling stories. I feel like people would fight a grizzly bear for me, and I would do the same for them.”

She added, “These girls that are kicking up the dust right now, they are whooping butt, and I am so proud to see it. We're there for each other, we lift each other up, we're honest with each other and that's what it's about.”

If there were any doubts about Wilson’s fanbase Down Under, a recent fan-voted award put it to rest. At the inaugural Countrytown Awards earlier this year, over 30,000 fans voted and decided Wilson was Australia’s Favourite International Artist, a title she was floored to receive.

“Wow, wow, wow. That’s huge. That’s a lot of people voting. That’s a lot of love, is all I gotta say,” she said, clearly moved.

So what can fans expect next?

“Make sure y’all are diving into the deluxe tracks, because we’re definitely going to be playing them,” Wilson teased. “I feel like we’ve got so many things up our sleeve, and I’m so excited to bring Flatland Calvary and Caitlin Butts over there. Hopefully we can get them on stage and do some stuff together too. Y’all just be on the edge of your seats, that’s all I can tell you.”

Australia, get ready. Lainey Wilson is bringing the whirlwind and she’s not slowing down anytime soon.