LAINEY WILSON, JELLY ROLL AND LUKAS NELSON SHARE THEIR SONGS AND STORIES AT ALL FOR THE HALL LOS ANGELES WITH SPECIAL GUEST JOHN MAYER

LAINEY WILSON, JELLY ROLL AND LUKAS NELSON

SHARE THEIR SONGS AND STORIES AT

ALL FOR THE HALL LOS ANGELES

WITH SPECIAL GUEST JOHN MAYER

Gala fundraiser concert supports Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum education programs

“It’s gonna be a good night, I feel it in my bones,” Lainey Wilson told the audience gathered at All for the Hall Los Angeles right at the start of the show. “We’ve got a few surprises up our sleeve.”

The intimate, guitar pull-style concert, presented Thursday night (September 18) at The Novo featured Wilson alongside Jelly Roll and Lukas Nelson taking turns and sharing songs in the classic Nashville songwriter tradition as part of a fundraiser for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s education programs. It was a night of stories, laughter, and, true to Wilson’s word, musical surprises.

Before the music began, Museum CEO Kyle Young touched on the ongoing importance of the institution’s mission as a place of education and study as country music continues to grow. “The artists, writers, and musicians who have come before and are sure to come after us are worthy of study celebration and honor,” he said.

The three performers assembled for All for the Hall Los Angeles were excellent examples of the breadth of country music in the present, each working in a distinct lane but appreciative of one another’s contributions. Wilson, who was recently the subject of the Museum’s exhibit Lainey Wilson: Tough as Nails, served as the affable and gracious host, calling Jelly Roll and Nelson her “brothers in country music” and thanking them for coming. “I’ve got some of the best friends in the world,” she said. “Every time I holler at y’all to be somewhere, y’all show up. That’s a real friend.”

For his part, Nelson demonstrated that he’s a twin threat as a soulful singer and a masterful guitar player who performs with surprising intensity. His performances included “Just Outside of Austin” about the place where he grew up, “Forget About Georgia,” and “More Than Friends,” for which Wilson hopped off her stool and swayed to the rhythm as she added harmony vocals to the flirtatious number. The pair also paid tribute to the late Dolly Parton by performing a portion of the 2013 Kenny Rogers and Parton duet “You Can’t Make Old Friends.”

Nelson wrapped up with a searing rendition of “Find Yourself,” which he wrote while working on the music for the 2018 film A Star Is Born.  The song first appeared on his album Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and it got an immediate endorsement from the film’s female lead, Lady Gaga. “She loved it so much,” he said. “She sang on the actual recording of the song.”

Jelly Roll was quick to show his appreciation of Nelson’s talents. “You’re so good, it’s almost hard to like you,” he quipped. His banter kept the audience laughing appreciatively throughout the night, whether he was adding playful asides about Wilson’s wedding to Devlin Hodges (“That wedding was fancy. Everything was free!”) or his colorful past on the wrong side of the law.

The Nashville native effortlessly blended humor with the sincerity of his songs, which were inspired by the struggle, doubt, and redemption that have marked his journey, performing his hits “Liar,” “I Am Not Okay,” “Need a Favor,” and “Save Me,” which featured powerful vocal accompaniment from Wilson.

“Thank you for wearing your heart on your sleeve,” Wilson said to Jelly Roll.

Wilson was brimming with down-home charm and in fine voice as she talked about her life and journey. As she introduced “4X4XU,” she noted that she had married a man who goes by the nickname of “Duck.” “I thought I couldn’t get any more redneck, and God’s like, ‘I’ve got jokes!’” Wilson talked about her family’s history taming horses before launching into “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” and belted the high note of “Heart Like a Truck” with gusto, earning enthusiastic applause as she did it. “I have to sing that note for the rest of my life,” she said. “Every time I come up on it, I’m like, ‘Lord Jesus, you better be with me now!’”

To cap things off, Wilson had a special guest waiting in the wings and brought out John Mayer to the audience’s delight. The pair performed their recently recorded collaboration “Phone, Keys, Wallet,” with Mayer adding harmonies and his fluid electric guitar licks. It was the first time they performed the song together live. Wilson recalled recording the track and thinking out loud that she wanted Mayer to be a part of it. They managed to catch him in a Los Angeles studio and played the track over a tinny cellphone speaker, but it was more than enough to get him on board. “I said, ‘Let’s go,’” Mayer recalled.

The spirit of being game and loving the music shone through with each artist’s selections throughout the evening, which Wilson described as a nourishing experience. “My heart is so full,” Wilson said. “If y’all keep having me, I’ll keep being here.”

All for the Hall Los Angeles also featured a performance from the Museum’s flagship education program, Words & Music, which instructs young people on the craft of writing songs. Students from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles took the stage with  acclaimed country songwriters Liz Rose and Phil Barton to perform an original song created through Words & Music, “I’ll Overcome,” that offered a message of strength and resilience.

Festivities for All for the Hall kicked off Wednesday (September 17) with a reception for invited attendees at the Los Angeles home of Sarah and Neil Moritz. Songwriters Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose—known collectively as the Love Junkies—were joined by Phil Barton to give a backyard serenade of hits including such award-winning songs as “Humble and Kind,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “You Belong with Me,” and “Girl Crush.”

All for the Hall was envisioned in 2005 by Country Music Hall of Fame member and board president Vince Gill, who proposed the idea of donating proceeds from one annual performance to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In the two decades since, All for the Hall concerts have raised more than $8 million in support of the museum’s educational initiatives. Funds raised from the concerts support the museum’s educational initiatives, which directly served more than 125,000 people last year through in-person and virtual programs.