Lainey Wilson Review

Lainey Wilson brings rock ‘n roll swagger to sold-out RodeoHouston concert

Lainey Wilson, seen here in 2024, returns to RodeoHouston.

Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Despite being one of the weirdest and most talked-about rodeo seasons in recent memory — marked by county government sideshows and barenaked carnival crowds — 2026 has been a great year for female artists at RodeoHouston, all things considered.

Houston’s own Lizzo (69,362), Kelly Clarkson (70,007), Megan Moroney (69,125), and now Lainey Wilson (70,130) have drawn huge numbers compared to some of the male acts. Wilson’s debut RodeoHouston appearance in 2024 was a verified sold-out Saturday matinee, attracting 74,940 fans.

Slightly surprising, Christian artist Forrest Frank has been the biggest draw so far in 2026 with 70,707 fans packing in for his Sunday matinee on March 8. Russell Dickerson, who rode into Times Square to introduce RodeoHouston to the world, pulled in 53,063 folks off the street for his debut. Stalwart Chris Stapleton’s all-too-brief show on March 12 pulled in a reliable 70,077.

Creed and Clarkson are tied at 70,007, which bodes well for even more millennial nostalgia acts waiting in the wings.

Will anyone next year beat the 75,600 Jonas Brothers fans that invaded NRG Stadium in 2024? Don’t worry, we’ll have our RodeoHouston 2027 wishlist online in the next few days.

Coming into the last Thursday of the season, Wilson’s face could be seen everywhere at NRG Center, from huge banners above the Ford activation near the carnival, inside the Cavender’s booth touting her Wrangler western wear collaborations, not to mention her pitchwoman work for Whataburger and Tractor Supply.

Wilson is also the subject of a new Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool, which premiered at SXSW this past week. It chronicles the making of the Whirlwind album and features scenes from the road and the recording studio as the last few years of her life unfolded. Produced by Houston native Kent Kubena, Lainey fanatics will have to wait until it officially premieres on the streamer on April 22.

The 33-year-old’s hippie-billy evolution from 2021’s Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin, 2022’s breakout Bell Bottom Country, and into 2024’s Whirlwind has seen her stretch her distinctive voice into bombastic new territories, into some late ‘80s Lita Ford vibes. When’s the power ballad duet with Dave Grohl happening?

Wilson kicked off Thursday night with the punchy brand-new single “Can’t Sit Still,’ which just dropped on streaming services last Friday, riding onto the dirt in the back of a Ford truck, naturally. Nerdy music writer note: the song lifts a little bit of lyrical flavor from Taking Back Sunday’s “Liar (It Takes One To Know One).” Who knew 2000s screamo was still giving us gifts?

The AC-D-She stomp of “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” got a big-budget stadium makeover. "4X4XU," which sounded like it was straight from a classic ‘80s Spotify playlist, was the first major singalong of the evening. In another lifetime, she would be the world's greatest frontwoman of a Guns N’ Roses tribute band. There’s a revival of harder-edge ‘90s female rock in the wind lately, so its probably not a coincidence that Wilson might be drinking from that well for the new album. On “Dreamcatcher,” her band went into full Rock & Roll Hall of Fame All-Star Jam mode.

Recent #1 hit "Somewhere Over Laredo” (“caught me a red eye flight outta Houston” got a huge roar) saw Wilson taking flight on one of the starred stage’s pointed lifts. During “Atta Girl,” Wilson pulled a lucky little girl named Presley out of the chute seats to be crowned her “cowgirl of the night” to a wall of cheers, gifting her one of her signature Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hats. It’s become a tradition at Wilson shows.

As closer "Heart Like a Truck" hit maximum altitude and Wilson hit the highest highs, her horse for the night was led out to the stairs next to the stage for Wilson’s now-customary victory lap around the stage and ride off into the bowels of NRG, leather fringe and all.

Setlist

Can’t Sit Still
Wildflowers and Wild Horses
4X4XU
Smell Like Smoke
Dreamcatcher
Watermelon Moonshine
Hang Tight Honey
Somewhere Over Laredo
Atta Girl
Good Horses
Things A Man Oughta Know
Heart Like A Truck

rodeohouston concert review lainey wilson

Movie Review

Charming Ryan Gosling tries to save the Earth in Project Hail Mary

Photo by Jonathan Olley

Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary

The reasons behind the success of 2015’s The Martian, which earned over $630 million worldwide and got nominated for seven Oscars, had as much to do with the novel written by Andy Weir as it did with star Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott. Weir’s commitment to making an entertaining story that was also scientifically accurate proved to be easy to translate into a blockbuster movie.

The same is true for Weir’s 2021 novel, Project Hail Mary, now a film starring Ryan Gosling. Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, who opens the film waking up from an induced coma, alone on an interstellar spaceship named the Hail Mary. As his foggy mind clears, he — and the audience — learn that he was recruited to help an initiative to save the world after it’s discovered that a mysterious phenomenon is causing the sun to cool down, threatening all life on Earth.

The film toggles back and forth between Grace’s time on the ship and his whirlwind journey of scientific discovery on Earth, with revelations coming on both sides. On Earth, he mostly deals with Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), the unflappable and unstoppable leader of the international coalition dedicated to solving the problem. And in space, orbiting the far-off star known as Tau Ceti, he encounters another being he names Rocky, a five-limbed creature that looks like a boulder which teams up with him to try to save both of their worlds.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and written by Drew Goddard (who also wrote The Martian), the film melds multiple genres into an astonishingly great whole. It starts off as a mystery, morphs into science fiction, transitions into actual science, becomes a thriller, adds in plenty of drama, and — for good measure — features plenty of comedy along the way. Shifting tones like this film does is tricky for many filmmakers, but Lord and Miller prove to be masterful at knowing just how much of each to include before it becomes too much.

One of the biggest keys to the story is the fact that Grace is not a hero in the movie sense of the word. He’s very smart, but he’s also an everyman, teaching middle school science after being shunned from academia. The circumstances of how he ended up on the Hail Mary are doled out in pieces over the course of the film, but it’s clear from the start that Grace’s talents are not the ones found in your typical astronaut. Ironically, it’s him being forced to do heroic stuff that imbues him with an atypical type of bravery.

The relationship between Grace and Rocky is unique, and Rocky ends up being as endearing an alien that’s been featured in movies despite the fact that he has no face and speaks only in musical tones. The film does a very effective job of putting the audience in Grace’s shoes, having to figure out ways to communicate with Rocky at the same time as he’s trying to figure out how to complete a mission he wasn’t trained to do.

Gosling is the ideal actor to portray a man like Grace. Essentially alone for much of the film, his innate charm and humorous delivery keep the film from feeling like an extended monologue. The flashback scenes to his time on Earth feature solid performances from people like Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Lionel Boyce (The Bear), and more, who fill in the pieces of the story without feeling out of place.

Project Hail Mary is a crowd-pleaser in all the right ways, delivering plenty of thrilling action and funny moments while also digging deep into science nerd elements. With a movie star like Gosling in the lead and successful filmmakers like Lord, Miller, and Goddard behind the scenes, the film makes an early case for being one of best of the year.

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Project Hail Mary opens in theaters on March 20.

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