Ella Langley performs during Amazon Music Country Heat at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 28, 2024. ( Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
WILDWOOD, New Jersey — Country star Lainey Wilson paused her set at Barefoot Country Music Festival in New Jersey to honor a young woman in the audience who will soon join the U.S. Army.
Midway through her performance, Wilson spotted a fan holding a sign that read, “I leave for the U.S. Army next month,” according to a now-viral TikTok.
“Come on, we’re going to get our picture, girlfriend,” Wilson said as she kneeled onstage to reach out to the fan. “You have your phone with you? Come on. Here, I’ll take it.”
She then invited the woman onstage.
“You know what, we got to get you up here,” Wilson finally declared. “We got to get a better one than this.”
The powerful moment stirred a wave of applause and emotional admiration across the festival grounds. Video footage shows Wilson placing an arm around the recruit’s shoulders as attendees cheered in support.
“Thank you so much for your service,” Wilson said. “Because of people like you I get to do what I do, and that means the world to me.”
Wilson, who has built a reputation for her support of veterans through her Heart Like a Truck Fund, is currently in the midst of her Whirlwind World Tour, which will continue across North America this summer.
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