Lainey Wilson surprised an unsuspecting crowd at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Grammy-winning artist made a surprise appearance at a Songwriter Session, which took place on Saturday (July 19) in the museum’s Ford Theater in support of Wilson’s new exhibit, Lainey Wilson: Tough as Nails, opening to the public one day prior. Two of Wilson’s collaborators, Aaron Raitiere and Jon Decious, took the stage during the event. Together, they performed a few songs together, including “4x4xU” and “Ring Finger,” which the trio wrote together and included on Wilson’s latest studio record, Whirlwind. Wilson invited a young fan to join her on stage to sing “4x4xU” with her, per a video shared by the Country Music Hall of Fame on Instagram on Tuesday (July 22).

Decious also teamed up with Wilson on “Counting Chickens,” another track on the Louisiana-born artist’s 2024 album, and a press release issued Monday (July 21) from the Country Music Hall of Fame nots that the pair previously wrote songs recorded by Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde and more. Collectively, Decious and Raitiere have written songs recorded by Ben Chapman, Lukas Nelson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ella Langley, Maren Morris, Randy Rogers Band and other artists.

Wilson caught up with iHeartCountry when she viewed her exhibit at the opening celebration on Thursday evening (July 17). She said “it puts a lot into perspective,” to see her life and career represented in the massive venue.

“When I think about the journey, when I think about all the moments where I’ve come to a roadblock and had to figure out whether to go right or left, and just have to switch gears a whole bunch, I’ve had to be tough as nails,” Wilson told iHeartCountry of the exhibit’s title, which also cleverly nods to a lyric in “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.” “I’ve had no other choice. But I feel like because my journey hasn’t been like an overnight success, I feel like that’s given me the songs that I’m supposed to be singing to people, you know? …I’m not mad about it. I’m not mad that I’ve been in Nashville for 15 years, you know? I’m proud of that.

“What I’m realizing is at this point, the sky is the limit, and that’s a really cool thing.”

Lainey Wilson: Tough as Nails is open to the public, and included with admission into the Hall of Fame. The exhibit will remain open through June 2026.

Billy Greenwood