“Alright, y’all. Wilson family vacation, Turks and Caicos… I mean, Turks and Chaos.”
That is how Lainey Wilson opened her video recap of a family vacation in the islands. She shared it on Instagram, and Holler transcribed it on Nov. 6.
It was a breather before a big night. On Nov. 18, Lainey hosts the CMA Awards on ABC for the third year in a row, and this year the show turns 60. “I’ve had so much fun hosting the last two years, and this one’s going to be extra special,” she said when the news came out.
If you only know her from the radio, Lainey is the Louisiana singer behind “Heart Like a Truck.” She grew up in Baskin, La., a farm town of about 200 people. Her dad, Brian, is a fifth-generation farmer who raises corn, wheat and oats, People reported last year. Her mom, Michelle, was a schoolteacher.
The whole crew came along. Her husband, former NFL quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges, made the trip. Her parents came too, along with her sister Janna and Janna’s two little boys, Knox and Ledger.
Lainey narrated the footage like a proud aunt at a slideshow. “Me and my mom and sister had our matching tiger-by-the-tail PJs, and Uncle Duck’s trying to keep these kids acting right, and it did not work!” she said.
The boys had a big week. “Knox and Ledger, man. They ain’t never seen anything like this in their life,” she said, before adding, “Neither has their Aunt Lainey, coolest Aunt in the world!”
Breakfast came with a show. “Ain’t nothing like watching excavator videos for breakfast,” Lainey said. At some point Aunt Lainey made the boys a deal. She promised them $20 if they would dance to her new song, “Kinda Love It,” and the video shows them dancing. Then she came clean. “I still ain’t gave them $20. I’m hoping they forgot until they see this video.”
That song came out on Oct. 9. Lainey wrote it about Duck, and he rides a four-wheeler with her around their Tennessee property in the music video.
Lainey and Duck in the “Kinda Love It” music video
For all the fun with the kids, the first person Lainey talked about in her video was her daddy.
“This is my Daddy’s first time out of the country,” she said. Brian has spent his life working Louisiana dirt, and he did not change a thing for the islands. “He wore his Wranglers and his boots on the beach,” Lainey said.
Then he found the jet ski. “And he drove the jet ski like a bat out of hell,” she said. Michelle went along for the ride. “And Mama held on like a tick on a hound-dog!”
Lainey had one more joke at her dad’s expense. “Daddy’s legs ain’t seen the sun in about 64 years,” she said.
Folks who know the family won’t be shocked by the beach outfit. In a September interview with Zan Rowe’s Take 5, as Holler reported, Lainey put it plainly: “We were a Wrangler family, and we still are.”
The jet ski has a back story, too. Last year, Lainey told Taste of Country Nights she nearly bought one on a whim after seeing somebody ride one up to a restaurant. “I was ready to get a turquoise jet ski,” she said. Duck talked her out of it before she finished her beer. “He was like ‘You’re not gonna be here to ride it,'” she recalled. In Turks and Caicos, her daddy didn’t need anybody’s permission.
The Country Music Hall of Fame made this short film on her Baskin roots for its “Tough as Nails” exhibit.
Lainey on growing up in her Louisiana hometown
Next up for Lainey is CMA night at Bridgestone Arena. As for Knox and Ledger, they were still owed $20 when the video went up. Now that the whole family has seen it, Aunt Lainey may want to keep a twenty handy.