It was just another quiet Sunday evening toward the end of July for Albany County rancher Kelly McGuire when she got a phone call she never would have expected.
The caller was a location scout for country music superstar Lainey Wilson.
The scout said, “‘I’m sitting here at the end of your driveway. Can I come on down and look around?’” McGuire told Cowboy State Daily.
As a fan of Wilson’s music, McGuire couldn’t refuse.
‘I Wasn’t Sure I Would Get The Gig’
The scout was looking for “a grassy field near some buildings” as a key location for a video for Wilson’s new single, the title track of her fifth studio album, “Whirlwind.”
McGuire is owner of Oxford Wagyu and co-owner and manager of the Oxford Ranch off Highway 287 about 8 miles south of Laramie.
McGuire’s parents bought the property in 1992, but the ranch’s legacy goes back much further. It was first established in 1887, and a horse barn there is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
McGuire figured her property would fit to bill for a country music video, but the scout was tight-lipped regarding whether it would be chosen.
“I wasn’t sure I would get the gig, because I knew they were scouting a few other locations around here,” McGuire said.
But the location director called that Tuesday — the Oxford had been chosen as the shooting site, and the gig was on.
Some scenes were shot the next day with actors featured in the video as a love-struck young couple in trouble with the law.
At one point in the video, the wayward lovers are chased on foot by law officers, played by real-life Albany County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Rebecka Lubbers, Damian Olaveson and Garrett Hodgden.
Other scenes in the video featuring the couple, but not Wilson, were shot in Laramie, where many familiar landmarks can be spotted.
Some include the Cowboy Saloon, J's Prairie Rose Café and the Garfield Street foot bridge over the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
On Thursday of that week, Wilson arrived to shoot her scenes at the ranch.
“I got the first call completely out of the blue on Sunday, and then it all happened quickly that week. It was quick gig,” McGuire said.
Per orders from Wilson’s publicist, she couldn’t talk openly about her experience until the album and video were officially released, which was Friday.
“I had to stay quiet about it for a month,” McGuire said. “That’s been really hard.”
Albany County rancher Kelly McGuire and her son, William, pose with country music superstar Lainey Wilson. Wilson shot scenes for her “Whirlwind” music video at the Oxford ranch south of Laramie. (Courtesy Kelly McGuire) 
Country music star Lainey Wilson has just dropped the video for her new single, "Whirlwind," which will look familiar to many in Wyoming. Much of it was shot in and around Laramie. (Courtesy Lainey Wilson via YouTube) 
Country music star Lainey Wilson has just dropped the video for her new single, "Whirlwind," which will look familiar to many in Wyoming. Much of it was shot in and around Laramie. (Courtesy Lainey Wilson via YouTube) 
Country music star Lainey Wilson has just dropped the video for her new single, "Whirlwind," which will look familiar to many in Wyoming. Much of it was shot in and around Laramie. (Courtesy Lainey Wilson via YouTube) 
Country music star Lainey Wilson has just dropped the video for her new single, "Whirlwind," which will look familiar to many in Wyoming. Much of it was shot in and around Laramie. (Courtesy Lainey Wilson via YouTube) 
Country music star Lainey Wilson has just dropped the video for her new single, "Whirlwind," which will look familiar to many in Wyoming. Much of it was shot in and around Laramie. (Courtesy Lainey Wilson via YouTube)
A Big Deal In Country Music
Wilson is one of country music’s biggest stars and played at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 26.
Born in Baskin, Louisianna, in 1992, Wilson set out for Nashville in 2011. Her music career had humble beginnings, living in a camper trailer outside of a music studio.
But things started happening once she released her eponymous debut album in 2014. Her career has really taken off in the 2020s, making her one of country music’s biggest contemporary artists.
In 2021, she won the Academy of County Music Awards new female artist of the year and song of the year for “Things A Man Oughta Know.”
She’s won numerous other music awards, including a Grammy for her 2022 album “Bell Bottom County.”
Wilson made her acting debut during Season 5 of the hugely popular Paramount television series “Yellowstone,” about a Montana ranching family.
Wilson played a musician character named Abby and premiered her original song “Smell Like Smoke” on the show.
Wyoming Fans Meet A Superstar
Her 2022 duet with another country music star Hardy, “Wait in the Truck” was a huge hit for both of them.
McGuire said that’s the song that hooked her on Wilson’s music.
“The first song of hers I discovered was ‘Wait in the Truck,’” McGuire said. “The vocals in that song just really captured me. I was like, ‘Who is the lady singing in this song?’”
She said she’s still amazed that Wilson was out on her property and that she got to meet the superstar in person.
Albany County Sheriff Aaron Appelhans told Cowboy State Daily that his department was first asked to work with Wilson on the video during Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Appelhans said he’s also a fan of Wilson’s music, and that she and her crew were great to work with.
“Everybody was happy to be involved,” he said. “It was a good opportunity for both Lainey and her people, and for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.”
Even if in the video the love-crossed couple lead the deputies on a brief chase before getting away.
McGuire said the day that Wilson shot her scenes was incredibly busy, but she did get to meet the star, if only briefly.
“I mostly just tried to stay out of her way, she was very sweet,” McGuire said. “She was a great gal and it was just really fascinating to get to see her at work, and see everything going on behind the scenes.”
Wilson’s parents were also there.
“Her parents were a hoot. Very nice people, down to earth, very nice to be around,” McGuire said.
High-Angle Shots From A Backhoe
At different points in the video, the young lovers are seen in an old pickup, which McGuire said is a Ford F-250 that belongs to a good friend of hers.
Some high-angle shots from the scenes at the ranch were shot “from the bucket of my backhoe,” she said.
McGuire said he also helped build the clothesline that is featured prominently in the video, and an old trailer on the property was also used.
During most of the video shoot, people were told not to take photos or videos of their own. But as the shoot wrapped up, the rules relaxed and cellphones came out, McGuire said.
She’s thrilled that she and her son, William, got to pose for a personal photo with Wilson.
“I asked her for one little photo at the end,” McGuire said.
Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
