Lainey Wilson Gets Highway Named After Her

Highway 15 in Baskin, Louisiana, will now be named Lainey Wilson Highway.

The Watermelon Moonshine singer was honoured with the highway dedication last week (16 November). Wilson was raised in Baskin—a Louisiana town of 250 people—before moving to Nashville in 2011 to pursue her country music dreams.

Wilson, likely the most famous person to come out of Baskin, was honoured with a ceremony at which she was presented with a Northeast Louisiana Music Trail Marker.

The marker reads (via iHeartCountry):

Born in 1992, country music trail blazer Lainey Denay Wilson is a musician, singer, songwriter, actress and storyteller. Armed with a strong family work ethic and a lifelong dream, Lainey hit Nashville in 2011. Baskin native and producer Jerry Cupit not only gave awe a place to stay, they wrote hundreds of songs together. By 2018, she signed a publishing deal with Sony and a major recording contract with BBR. In 2020, Lainey’s release of ‘Things a Man Oughta Know’ sent her to new heights. This earned her the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year and New Female Artist of the Year Award in 2021. Since then Lainey has played to sold out crowds all over the world!

“Man, how does it feel to be back right now? It feels like I never left,” Wilson said on the day, per Nexstar Media. “I feel like I’ve been in Nashville for 13 years, but I also feel like I left yesterday. I feel so honoured and blessed to be from a place like this.”

During the ceremony, Dolly Parton appeared via video call to congratulate Wilson.

“You spent an awful lot of time on lost highways, so it’s a true honour to have one of them named after you,” Parton said. “Especially one in your own hometown, the Lainey Wilson Highway! Got a nice ring to it, don’t it? Hey, I’m really proud of you for using your incredible talents to help those in need.”

State officials including Congresswoman Julia Letlow, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, and Head of the Department of Transportation and Development Joe Donahue, were in attendance.

This week, Lainey Wilson is co-hosting the CMA Awards for the first time with Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning.