Runaway June, RISERS Inspired by Visits With Garth, Willie + More

Opening up for Garth Brooks can be terrifying for a new country group like Runaway June. The size of the crowds and stages, plus the idea that one if not two country music icons could be watching from just a few feet away — that’s a lot for anyone to take. At the end of the night, the “Lipstick” singers and 2017 Taste of Country RISERS were anything but afraid.

“I’ve never met a more generous person in my life,” the trio’s Jennifer Wayne says. “He came to our locker room after the show and said how great we did and he'd love to have us back. They had a little celebration at the end of the night and he said, are you guys gonna stay for the show? I want you all to come to our celebration, he was celebrating Entertainer of the Year. So, we were like, what is our life? We're hanging out with Garth and Trisha [Yearwood]. And I feel like they're my best friends!”

Singers Naomi Cooke and Hannah Mulholland listen, nod, smile and laugh while Wayne tells the story. His generosity not only eased their nerves, but inspired. The experience was the same when Runaway June opened for Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson recently.

“I feel like the kindness we felt when we were with those legends really goes to show that that's how they got where they are,” Mulholland says. “So I feel like that shows us how you treat people on the way up ... it says everything about you.”

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“Someone told me one time that someone who is truly great will make you feel like you can also be great,” Cooke adds. “So, definitely from experience — from being out on the road with these great people, they make — we felt like stars too when we were there.”

The three friends are becoming stars. “Lipstick” was a radio-friendly love song that inspired a generation of fans to sing it back to them from the crowd or online (an a cappella version of the song from Elon University students is particularly impressive). Expect new music to follow this spring and summer. They’ll also be hitting the road hard, including a stop at the 2017 ACM Party for the Cause on April 1.

Runaway June On Set at the 2017 RISERS Shoot

Runaway June Open Up About How Garth Brooks' Kindness Inspired Them