Lainey Wilson put aside her signature cowboy hat and flare jeans for a powerful 9/11 tribute, stepping onto the stage in a black suit as a choir sang behind her.

The country star performed Amazing Grace during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks in Lower Manhattan. Her performance was part of 9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan, a special event that also featured Cyndi Lauper and John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting.

Wilson and the other performers appeared beneath the two bright beams of the Tribute in Light, which rise into the Manhattan sky from the location where the Twin Towers once stood. For the first time in 25 years, the annual commemoration was broadcast live.

Rather than making the moment about herself, Wilson kept her performance simple. Dressed in black, she stood with the choir and allowed the familiar hymn to carry the emotion of the tribute.

Before taking the stage, Wilson said she was honored to be part of an event remembering the first responders, families and communities whose lives were changed forever by the attacks.

“The courage, bravery, and heroism displayed in response to 9/11 is a reminder of who we are as Americans and the strength and compassion we show one another at our most difficult moments,” she said.

Her performance quickly touched viewers, with many taking to social media to share how emotional they found her version of the beloved hymn.

The ceremony remembered the 2,977 people who lost their lives in the attacks. It also included performances of the American and British national anthems and Hymn to the Fallen.

The Tribute in Light has been held every September 11 since 2002, with two powerful beams rising roughly four miles above Lower Manhattan to represent the Twin Towers. Performing beneath those lights gave Wilson’s rendition an especially emotional setting.

Wilson was only nine years old when the attacks happened on September 11, 2001. Born in Baskin, Louisiana, on May 19, 1992, she grew up in a small farming community far from New York City.

Twenty-five years later, she returned to the site as a major country music star, this time with a microphone in her hand and a hymn that has been part of American funerals, memorials and moments of tragedy for generations.

Her choice of Amazing Grace also reflected a more personal side of Wilson that has become increasingly visible throughout 2026.

Earlier this year, she released The Jesus I Know Now with Brandon Lake. The country and southern gospel song, co-written with Emily Weisband and Luke Laird, marked one of the clearest expressions of faith in her music.

Wilson also spoke openly about her faith during a June concert at Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City. She told the crowd that she reads the Bible almost every day and has learned to turn to God before the things she once relied on.

That journey made Amazing Grace a natural choice for such a significant night.

The hymn has endured for generations because it does not try to explain grief or make tragedy easier to understand. Instead, it offers comfort when words are difficult to find.

For Wilson, the performance was more than another appearance on a major stage. It was a chance to honor the people who were lost, remember the families and first responders affected by 9/11, and reflect on a day she first experienced as a nine-year-old girl in Louisiana.

Under the two beams lighting up the New York sky, Wilson kept everything simple. No cowboy hat, no signature flare jeans, and no distractions. Just her voice, a choir and Amazing Grace.