Who Does Country Singer Lainey Wilson Play on ‘Yellowstone’? Meet Abby

Warning; Spoilers for Yellowstone‘s Season 5 premiere ahead.

Yellowstone is back for its highly-anticipated fifth season, and on top of a jam-packed two-hour premiere, fans got to meet several intriguing new characters. Among the fresh faces was even a familiar one!

Country singer Lainey Wilson made an appearance in Season 5, Episode 1, “One Hundred Years is Nothing,” as a new character named Abby. Just like Wilson IRL, Abby is a singer on the show, and though it remains unclear how long her character will stick around, we have a fairly good idea of what could happen if she does, thanks to her scenes in the premiere.

So who is Lainey Wilson? And who is Wilson’s Yellowstone character, Abby? We’ve got all the answers you need, including some speculation on where Wilson’s character might go in Season 5, below.

Who Is Abby In Yellowstone‘s Season 5 Premiere?

Yellowstone‘s Season 5 premiere shows John Dutton (Kevin Costner) being sworn in as governor and throwing a great big inaugural bash back on the ranch. At this bash, we find Abby leaning against a fence, watching the bunkhouse boys be bunkhouse boys. She has her eyes set on Ryan (Ian Bohen), and as the two smile at each other, Beth (Kelly Reilly) struts over to Abby and asks, “That one yours?” referencing Ryan.

When Abby replies, “None of them are mine. I’m too smart to date a cowboy,” Beth asks why she’s looking at them before delivering a scathing burn about her outfit. “I sing later,” Abby replies. “Gotta wear something flashy onstage, something fun. Crowd likes it.”

As the two stand beside each other watching the guys play around with their lassos, Abby says, “I know cowboys. Cause they’ll always love the life more. The horse more. The job more. The rodeo more. I want to be first.”

“You do?” Beth replies, horrified. She looks at Rip sitting on a hill and says, “I prefer a man whose life is already full. That way he’s got something to share with me. You know what I mean? If I want blind adoration I’ll get me a dog. I’m gonna go sit with my cowboy now.”

When Beth leaves, Ryan walks up to Abby and she shoots him down immediately. “It ain’t gonna work,” she says before he even has the chance to open his mouth. “What ain’t gonna work?” he asks. She tells him she’s just window shopping and he asks her if she has any interest in a dance. She shoots him down again, but he says, “What if I insist?” and tosses his lasso around her body. Smooth move, dude! The two dance to Taylor Sheridan-approved band Shane Smith & The Saints, and honestly? They look cute as hell together.

Who Is Lainey Wilson, The Country Singer Who Plays Abby in Yellowstone?

Lainey Wilson is a country music star from Louisiana who made her acting debut on Yellowstone right after winning two CMA Awards for New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year. The 30-year-old singer and songwriter has released three studio albums — Tougher (2016), Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ (2021), and Bell Bottom Country (2022). The latter was released on October 28, less than a month before her appearance on Yellowstone.

If you want to stay up-to-date on Wilson’s music and acting announcements, you can follow her on social media, YouTube, and Spotify. She currently has 32,000 Twitter followers, 297,000 Instagram followers, 109,000 YouTube subscribers, and more than three million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Like Shane Smith & The Saints, Wilson’s music appeared in Yellowstone prior to her cameo. “I met [series co-creator and executive producer] Taylor Sheridan after he put one of my songs in the show,” Wilson told The New York Post. “He invited me out to Vegas to play a horse-riding competition. And we really kind of bonded over horses.”

Is Lainey Wilson’s Yellowstone Character Abby Sticking Around for Season 5?

While we’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for Abby (Wilson), it seems she’ll be back for more scenes in Season 5.

“I pretty much get to be myself,” Wilson told Country Now when asked about her character, Abby. “I get to wear my bell bottoms, I get to be me, I get to talk with an accent, I get to sing my songs.”

“In my mind, she’s maybe traveling through Montana, a musician, maybe finds a group of people who are really starting to dig her music and she stays for a while,” Wilson continued. So what’s in store for Abby? She’ll likely get to sing (Wilson’s original music) on the show, explore her spark with Ryan, and maybe even find a friend in Beth.

New episodes of Yellowstone premiere Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.