Lily Rose takes "I Know What I Want" to the Bourbon Theatre

The singer whose song "Villain" broke out on TikTok plays O Street on Friday, Nov. 13, in what our records show is her first Lincoln date.

Some country careers start in a writers' room on Music Row. Lily Rose's took off from a phone screen. In late 2020 she posted a clip of an unreleased song called "Villain," and commenters begged her to put out the full track. Next Friday she brings that story, and a full album's worth of songs since, to downtown Lincoln.

Lily Rose plays the Bourbon Theatre on Friday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. Tickets are through the venue at bourbontheatre.com. The room holds about 637, which is about as close as you'll get to an artist on this kind of run. We have no earlier Lincoln show for her in our records, so this may be the first chance for a lot of local fans.

Here's the backstory if you missed it. "Villain," which Rose co-wrote with Mackenzie Carpenter and Kyle Clark, became a streaming hit that reached No. 1 on the iTunes all-genre and country charts. Within weeks she had a joint-venture deal with Big Loud Records, Back Blocks Music and Republic Records. She grew up in the Atlanta area, and early coverage framed her as an artist breaking barriers in the genre. She told interviewers she wanted to be a movement, not a moment.

The moment kept going. Last year Rose released her full-length debut, *I Know What I Want*, a record she has said took five years of her life. Before that came singles like "Let You Know When I Get There". The tour named for the album kept adding legs as it went. Lincoln sits in the middle of a busy November: she plays Madison the night before and Oklahoma City the night after, after earlier stops in Louisville, Indianapolis and Akron. She also has a Jacksonville date in December.

The Bourbon makes sense for a show like this. It sits at 1415 O Street, a few blocks from campus, right in the middle of downtown's bar strip. It has long been one of the city's main midsize rooms, the kind of place where touring acts come through before they're playing arenas. It's a standing room with a bar, a real stage and good sightlines from most of the floor. Plan to get in early if you want to be up front, and plan on O Street parking being O Street parking on a Friday night.

The song started on a phone screen. Next Friday it's on the stage at 1415 O Street.

If you only know "Villain," that's fine. That's how most of the room probably found her too. Come for the song everyone knows, and stay for the new album, which is the real reason she's out on the road.

Sources: Bourbon Theatre (bourbontheatre.com); Viral TikTok Star Lily Rose Releases New Song “Villain” – Country Swag (countryswag.com); ‘Energized and Humbled’ by the Success of ‘Villain’ – Country Now (countrynow.com); Lily Rose signs with Big Loud/Republic – Holler (holler.country); Rising star: Atlanta’s Lily Rose breaks barriers in country music – Rough Draft Atlanta (roughdraftatlanta.com); Rose wants to be a movement, not a moment in country music – Daily Press (pressreader.com); Here Is Lily Rose’s Debut Album ‘I Know What I Want’ – Country Swag (countryswag.com); Lily Rose Pours Five Years of Life Into Upcoming Album – Country Now (countrynow.com); Lily Rose Launches 2025 With New Track – BroadwayWorld (broadwayworld.com); Lily Rose announces West Coast I Know What I Want tour dates – The Music Universe (themusicuniverse.com); Lily Rose – Red Light Management (redlightmanagement.com); Bourbon Theatre – AARP Local (local.aarp.org)