Vince Gill Is in His Corner. Chris Stapleton Wrote His Song. Lamont Landers Is Having a Moment. [Exclusive]
The country riser sat down with All Country News to talk about his unforgettable Opry debut, the power of Vince Gill’s support and the “15 year overnight success” behind it all.
Lamont Landers can tell you what performing at the Grand Ole Opry meant to him. What went through his head when Vince Gill surprised him by inviting him onstage? That part is a little harder.
When a moment gets that big, his brain apparently has other plans.
“My brain kind of goes into self preservation mode and I’m in fight or flight mode until the whole thing is over and I can breathe again,” Landers told All Country News.
The gratitude catches up once the adrenaline settles. And for an artist whose road has taken him from America’s Got Talent to one of country music’s most revered stages, there is plenty to take in.
“I’ll tell you now that it’s over I'm very proud that Vince would have me, and very proud that I was invited to perform at the Opry.”
Then comes the line that puts his growing momentum into perspective.
“It has been a long road to get to where I am now - a 15 year overnight success.”
Fifteen Years Behind the Big Moment
It is easy to focus on the milestones: the television appearance, the Opry invitation, the endorsement from a country legend. Landers remembers the road connecting them.
And he would take it again.
“I wouldn’t trade that road I’ve taken for any shortcut.”
That conviction gives this chapter its weight. The Opry moment represents years of work finally landing somewhere he can pause, catch his breath and feel proud.
Having Vince Gill in his corner certainly helps.
At first, Landers wondered whether Gill was simply being kind. Then he started hearing from people around Gill that the praise continued even when Landers was nowhere nearby.
“The more I’ve spoken to folks in his camp, or people that work with him regularly they’ve all told me that he brings me up and says he loves my voice,” Landers shared. “It means the world to me!”
The Vince Gill Lesson That Goes Beyond Music
For Landers, Gill’s support carries a lesson bigger than any career opportunity: success and decency can occupy the same room.
“He is as nice, warm and generous in real life as he seems in interviews and performances,” Landers said. “He’s a true one of one and a gentleman through and through.”
Watching that generosity up close has helped shape the kind of artist Landers wants to become.
“You don’t have to sacrifice integrity for success,” he said.
It is a powerful takeaway from a relationship built around musical admiration. Gill’s example gives Landers something to carry forward himself: champion the musicians who move you, and treat people well along the way.
A Stapleton Song—and Room to Surprise You
Gill is not the only major name connected to Landers’ story. “Lonely Girl” arrives with songwriting pedigree courtesy of Chris Stapleton.
Asked how he made the song his own, Landers offered an answer refreshingly free of elaborate artistic philosophy.
“Well I just sang it as best as I could and hope I did the material justice.”
His approach is straightforward: trust the song, step behind the microphone and give it everything.
“When the song is as good as it is, it makes it easy just to sing it.”
But anyone expecting Landers to settle into one lane should keep listening.
Discussing “For the Record” alongside a packed stretch of AMERICANAFEST performances and an Opry return, he described a song with throwback hip-hop influences and a big, fun chorus. It offers a glimpse of how much ground he hopes to cover.
“My roots will always be firm in Soul, Blues & R&B,” he explained. “But over the course of my career I fully intend to kind of dabble in all genres stylistically.”
Those roots give him a foundation. His curiosity gives him somewhere to go.
And beneath the big stages, famous supporters and ambitious musical plans, Landers has a wonderfully simple wish for the people pressing play.
“I just hope it makes people smile.”
Fifteen years into his overnight success, Lamont Landers has plenty of reasons to smile himself.
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