Gretchen Wilson is the tour manager on the new TV singing competition show The Road. It follows 12 rising country vocalists as they open for Keith Urban in music venues where tough audiences rate them. Each week, one singer gets eliminated. Wilson guides them all through the rigors of travel, performing, and taming their nerves. She does a lot for them - and they are doing a lot for her, per People.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Wilson Is Looking Back on Her Life and Career Twenty Years Ago
At 52, she reflects on the time years ago when she dropped her albums Here for the Party (2004) and All Jacked Up (2005). Per the outlet, Wilson said, "When I finally got out of the major label thing and started my own label, I got to slow down and make music at a pace that I think was more suitable for the music, quite honestly." There was also "a lot of partying."
She added, "I remember being with my buddies and just hanging out with likeminded musicians and making history and just knowing in that moment that this is the moment, this is the time. This is the time that you have to mark in that little spot in your mind because it doesn't happen for everybody. And we are the few and fortunate."
Now, some two decades later, Wilson is deeply affected by the ardor shown by the contestants on The Road.
They Sparked Her Own Professional Drive and Ambition
Per the outlet, Wilson mused, "Watching the fire and just the want in these kids... These contestants were all so very talented and just amazing to work with. They lit a bit of a fire in me."
There are going to be tangible results stemming from that reawakening. Wilson said that she plans to re-release her freshman album next year. She hinted, "It's going to be the very first album with all of the big hits that everybody knows on it. But what's different is I'm going to have a guest artist on each song. I can't tell you who yet, but definitely some big names and some that are very, very right now and some that are just my favorites from yesteryear."
