Why Blake Shelton Picked Gretchen Wilson for ‘The Road’

Gretchen Wilson is joining Blake Shelton for a brand new show.

It was previously announced that Shelton and Taylor Sheridan’s new music show, The Road, will be premiering this fall on CBS, with Wilson and Keith Urban attached.

The new series will give up-and-coming performers the chance to go on tour and take on a grueling schedule in pursuit of their dreams. Wilson will act as a “tour manager” for the aspiring artists who will open for numerous singers on the tour across the country in the hopes of wooing fans and securing a spot for the next city. Urban will be coming along to help discover the next big artist. Wilson, who has been nominated for numerous Grammys throughout her career and won once, told Taste of Country that the former The Voice coach actually suggested her for the series.

“Blake said if you want somebody who isn’t going to take any crap, who’s going to tell it like it is, and who also has the heart to deal with these people and their emotions, it’s Gretchen Wilson that you want to get,” Wilson explained.

Wilson and Shelton had known each other for several years, and it helped that she was also a huge Yellowstone fan, and with the show being executive produced by Sheridan, it was another easy factor. As for working with Urban, Wilson loved every second.

“Keith performed at every one of these shows,” she explained. “Just aces. This guy is just — he’s got it together. All I could think every time I was watching him on stage was, ‘I wanna be Keith when I grow up.’”

The Road is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios. Executive producing are Taylor Sheridan for Bosque Ranch Productions, Blake Shelton and Lee Metzger for Lucky Horseshoe Productions, David C. Glasser for 101 Studios, and Keith Urban. A premiere date for The Road has not been announced, but it’s been confirmed that the show will be airing this fall. It will be taking over Watson’s time slot on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET, as Watson has been held for midseason for its second season.

What exactly Wilson will be doing as a tour manager on The Road is unknown, but fans can likely expect her to be working alongside the aspiring singers and giving them tips. But it should also be fun to see her working with Urban and Shelton, and fans will want to tune in to The Road, premiering this fall on CBS.