On Wednesday night, Lainey Wilson got to hit the stage at the Ryman Auditorium and play the guitar of one of her idols: Hank Williams.

Wilson, one of the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry, performed as a part of the star-studded three-hour concert special “Opry 100: A Live Celebration” broadcasted on NBC.

The night included performances live from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House and the Ryman in celebration of the famed radio show’s 100th anniversary.

For the first Ryman performance of the night, Wilson stood alongside singer-songwriter Marty Stuart to pay tribute to Williams, a country music icon known for songs “Hey, Good Lookin’ and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Die.”

Stuart surprised Wilson by handing her one of Williams’ guitars, which she played alongside Stuart as they covered his 1948 song “Lonesome Highway.”

After a stirring tribute to Williams, who died in 1953, Wilson wasn’t ready to part with the guitar.

“I gotta give this thing back now?” she asked Stuart.

But she didn’t have to just yet.

Stuart and Wilson duetted on Wilson’s 2021 song “Things A Man Oughta Know,” bringing two very different beloved country tracks to the Ryman’s stage for the historic celebration.

Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist with The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lainey Wilson plays Hank Williams’ guitar at ‘Opry 100’ tribute