Randy Travis Appears in Wheelchair for Special Appearance With Lainey Wilson
Wilson welcomed Travis to the stage during her performance in Texas Friday.
Fans attending Lainey Wilson's sold-out show at the legendary venue Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth on Friday were in for a surprise. After lightning struck the venue's sound equipment and caused an outage, forcing Wilson to sing through a megaphone, the "Heart Like a Truck" singer was joined on stage by country music icon Randy Travis.
The special moment came in the middle of Wilson's troubled but upbeat set. After signing the wall at Billy Bob's and leaving her handprints in concrete at "The World's Largest Honky Tonk," lightning in the area caused an outage at the venue. But Wilson didn't let that stop the show. The singer continued working through her set list, which included songs like "Heart Like A Truck" and "Things A Man Oughta Know," with the help of a megaphone before she surprised the crowd by bringing Travis, who was in a wheelchair, onstage.
"It ain't every night you get to bring out the legend [Randy Travis] nor sing through a megaphone but we covered both of those last night at [Billy Bob's Texas]," Wilson later wrote of the night on Instagram alongside a few images of the evening, including two photos of herself with Travis. "Thank y'all for your patience while we waited for the power to kick back on...guess ya could say lightning likes us these days."
The moment was a rare appearance for Travis, whose onstage appearances have been limited since he suffered a stroke in 2013. Travis had suffered from congestive heart failure prior to suffering the medical emergency. Years later, the singer still suffers from aphasia, which is difficulty with language or speech, according to previous reports from The Sun. He has not released any new albums since 2014, in part due to his health issues, though he has made a handful of appearances.
In June of last year, Travis took the stage at Ascend Amphitheater during the 2022 CMA Fest, joining headliner Cole Swindell onstage. In June of this year, he appeared at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry to present Josh Turner two new RIAA Gold & Platinum Awards certifications. Just last month, he teased on Instagram that he had "so much fun shooting something special with [Tony Jackson]" at Johnny & June Cash's house in Bon Aqua, Tennessee.