The Sit Down with Cody Johnson
After his long awaited UK debut at C2C: Country to Country eighteen months ago, the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year Cody Johnson is returning to the British Isles in October and November for his first headline shows in Europe. The multi CMA and ACM award winning East Texas native continues to bring traditional country music into the future with the release of his tenth studio album “Banks Of The Trinity” earlier this summer which the UK and Irish fans will get to hear live for the first time during the upcoming six arena shows. Ahead of the trip, Jamie was able to spend some time with CoJo to talk about the album and look ahead to coming back across the pond.
It's great to chat and great that you're coming back to see us, which is really, really exciting.
"Oh yeah, I'm excited. I mean the first time that I went to Australia with Luke Combs, it was a little bit nerve-wracking because to travel that far and I can put it in perspective, I can remember the first time I went to Nashville, from Texas. I felt like I was going to a foreign country as I just never travelled like that, so the time I went to Australia I was nervous that nobody would know who I was or nobody cared about my music but once all that's out of the way, I think it was really fun for my first UK tour. I was like, they're gonna be really excited, you know, so those nerves weren't quite as bad going there and so to come back it's more the anticipation of how big is this gonna be this time?"
When you came and did C2C last year, you'd obviously heard about the UK audience and it's somewhere you'd wanted to come to for a while but how did it live up to those expectations in a way that people really do gravitate towards deep cuts or songs that weren't radio hits?
“It was insane, I literally just spoke about this about five minutes ago as to be a country music artist right now and to put this in perspective, I'm reading a book about Merle Haggard and how they got their music out where they had one way to do it and it was all decided by record label executives. It was all decided by terrestrial radio and programme directors, so their age class of country music, they were decided upon by very few outlets whereas, I live in a time where consumption can go through so many different social media outlets and even if you talk about Spotify, Pandora, Oddysey, Apple or whatever it may be, there’s so many different ways to have music out that it’s fun for me to get to see that yes, we have radio hits, but there are songs that are in our set that have never been on radio just because people have reacted to them so well. The UK did not disappoint and I think one of the coolest things was the first time I played every show in the UK from Scotland to Ireland to London was people showing up in their cowboy hats and cowboy boots, I thought that was extremely cool.”
It's great to chat and great that you're coming back to see us, which is really, really exciting.
"Oh yeah, I'm excited. I mean the first time that I went to Australia with Luke Combs, it was a little bit nerve-wracking because to travel that far and I can put it in perspective, I can remember the first time I went to Nashville, from Texas. I felt like I was going to a foreign country as I just never travelled like that, so the time I went to Australia I was nervous that nobody would know who I was or nobody cared about my music but once all that's out of the way, I think it was really fun for my first UK tour. I was like, they're gonna be really excited, you know, so those nerves weren't quite as bad going there and so to come back it's more the anticipation of how big is this gonna be this time?"
When you came and did C2C last year, you'd obviously heard about the UK audience and it's somewhere you'd wanted to come to for a while but how did it live up to those expectations in a way that people really do gravitate towards deep cuts or songs that weren't radio hits?
“It was insane, I literally just spoke about this about five minutes ago as to be a country music artist right now and to put this in perspective, I'm reading a book about Merle Haggard and how they got their music out where they had one way to do it and it was all decided by record label executives. It was all decided by terrestrial radio and programme directors, so their age class of country music, they were decided upon by very few outlets whereas, I live in a time where consumption can go through so many different social media outlets and even if you talk about Spotify, Pandora, Oddysey, Apple or whatever it may be, there’s so many different ways to have music out that it’s fun for me to get to see that yes, we have radio hits, but there are songs that are in our set that have never been on radio just because people have reacted to them so well. The UK did not disappoint and I think one of the coolest things was the first time I played every show in the UK from Scotland to Ireland to London was people showing up in their cowboy hats and cowboy boots, I thought that was extremely cool.”
It must be quite nice as well because you've got the six shows coming up over here and like we've said, people digest music differently. I guess putting the set list together for the UK shows, gives you a lot more freedom compared to what it is back at home. Like if you're driving down the road between Manchester and Glasgow or wherever, and you sort of see something which reminds you of a song kind of from way back, it can be like, hey, do you know what? I want to play that tonight. You're able to do that here, whereas back home, it's not as straightforward to do it.
“Right, I mean, right now, I just released my album “Banks Of The Trinity” so a pretty solid portion of our set is geared towards trying out new songs and that's harder than playing the old deep cuts, because you never know how someone's gonna react to a new song. I've got songs on this record that I've played live that I went, hmm, that didn't really go over like I thought it was going to and then we, like you say, play something that we haven't played in three years and the crowd goes crazy. So yes, to answer your question directly, it's gonna be really fun to go over and change the setlist up, work some things out, see what works and see what doesn't.”
You mentioned the record, so let's have a little deep dive and talk about a couple of tracks if we can. I guess the natural place to start is with the title track and “Banks Of The Trinity” so, when you got that song, firstly, what was it that drew you to it straight away and thought this is a song for me, this is a song I have to cut. Also, with that being the title track, was that one of the first songs that came towards the whole of the project where it's almost the centrepiece and you were trying to fit the other pieces of the puzzle around it?
“No, quite the opposite, it was one of the last tracks that I received. Everything happens for a reason, last year, I'm not sure if you're aware, I had to reschedule some shows because of a busted eardrum so I had a lot of time off. Before I had the accident with the sinuses and all the stuff that led to the busted eardrum, I felt like my record was done. I felt like it was solid enough for me to put my stamp on it and say, it’s done. In the time period that I had off with the rescheduling of the shows, I received a lot of music and I think it was one of those things where the word got out that well, he's not done with his record yet and they just flooded me with music. One of the last songs I received was “Banks Of The Trinity” and it's ironic, because I hadn't decided on an album title. When you have a song like “Leather” it’s really easy to say, this album's gonna be titled “Leather” I mean, you could think about all the artwork that surrounds that and it was an easy fix, but I didn't have a song that spoke to me yet, enough to be the album title for this one. When I heard “Banks Of The Trinity” I teared up a little bit and it took me back to places in my childhood, running truck lines, fishing for catfish and running around the woods on the Trinity River, and all the memories I have with my friends growing up. It painted such a beautiful picture, I listened to it the first time, I played it again, I just closed my eyes and I could see this beautiful picture in my mind, which may be different than what you see when you hear it, but for me, as an artist, it really took me back to a place. I thought, you know, it's a little bit wordy, but I think the title needs to be “Banks Of The Trinity” just because I know that when I do, it's gonna prompt questions like what you just asked.”
One of the tracks that I really like and is jumping towards the back end of the record, is "Time Bomb" which is one of the songs that you were involved with writing. Again, in terms of putting that together, I see Trent was a co-writer too and I know that you and him have worked together for what seems like forever, was that an old song that just wasn't a fit for the previous records or was it something that one just came to live during the process and seemed a fit?
“Honestly, it was a time last year when I was feeling really burnt out on the road, I was feeling really burnt out at home, then I sat down with my guitar and I didn't have any intention of writing a radio hit. Basically, I was writing something as if you were writing something down in your journal or your diary. Because if you speak those words: “They said I'd never make it, But still here I am, Lot a folks tried to change me, But I'm still the same man. You might think it's easy, This life on this road, But you can't hardly please me, Unless I'm playin' these shows.” It was more of a poem and a personal encouragement, kind of a cry for myself to find that personal encouragement and that fire to keep on going. There are days that I think that I can't make it through, but I do. It was one of those things that I sat around and wrote almost as a personal therapy session. I called Trent and I played it for him on the phone, then he changed some lines that were very pivotal but we only had a first verse and a chorus. The following week, I went out to work and two of my best friends in the world: Noe Quintanilla and Codrick Murphy, Noe is my personal assistant, Codrick is over in hospitality. Codrick is also one of my old bull riding partners from when I was a kid, we've known each other since we were fourteen and I said, y'all check this out, I played them the first person in the chorus. Noe said I think that the first verse is the second verse, so what’s the first verse? Then we started talking about it and the song was done at three o’clock in the morning.”
“Right, I mean, right now, I just released my album “Banks Of The Trinity” so a pretty solid portion of our set is geared towards trying out new songs and that's harder than playing the old deep cuts, because you never know how someone's gonna react to a new song. I've got songs on this record that I've played live that I went, hmm, that didn't really go over like I thought it was going to and then we, like you say, play something that we haven't played in three years and the crowd goes crazy. So yes, to answer your question directly, it's gonna be really fun to go over and change the setlist up, work some things out, see what works and see what doesn't.”
You mentioned the record, so let's have a little deep dive and talk about a couple of tracks if we can. I guess the natural place to start is with the title track and “Banks Of The Trinity” so, when you got that song, firstly, what was it that drew you to it straight away and thought this is a song for me, this is a song I have to cut. Also, with that being the title track, was that one of the first songs that came towards the whole of the project where it's almost the centrepiece and you were trying to fit the other pieces of the puzzle around it?
“No, quite the opposite, it was one of the last tracks that I received. Everything happens for a reason, last year, I'm not sure if you're aware, I had to reschedule some shows because of a busted eardrum so I had a lot of time off. Before I had the accident with the sinuses and all the stuff that led to the busted eardrum, I felt like my record was done. I felt like it was solid enough for me to put my stamp on it and say, it’s done. In the time period that I had off with the rescheduling of the shows, I received a lot of music and I think it was one of those things where the word got out that well, he's not done with his record yet and they just flooded me with music. One of the last songs I received was “Banks Of The Trinity” and it's ironic, because I hadn't decided on an album title. When you have a song like “Leather” it’s really easy to say, this album's gonna be titled “Leather” I mean, you could think about all the artwork that surrounds that and it was an easy fix, but I didn't have a song that spoke to me yet, enough to be the album title for this one. When I heard “Banks Of The Trinity” I teared up a little bit and it took me back to places in my childhood, running truck lines, fishing for catfish and running around the woods on the Trinity River, and all the memories I have with my friends growing up. It painted such a beautiful picture, I listened to it the first time, I played it again, I just closed my eyes and I could see this beautiful picture in my mind, which may be different than what you see when you hear it, but for me, as an artist, it really took me back to a place. I thought, you know, it's a little bit wordy, but I think the title needs to be “Banks Of The Trinity” just because I know that when I do, it's gonna prompt questions like what you just asked.”
One of the tracks that I really like and is jumping towards the back end of the record, is "Time Bomb" which is one of the songs that you were involved with writing. Again, in terms of putting that together, I see Trent was a co-writer too and I know that you and him have worked together for what seems like forever, was that an old song that just wasn't a fit for the previous records or was it something that one just came to live during the process and seemed a fit?
“Honestly, it was a time last year when I was feeling really burnt out on the road, I was feeling really burnt out at home, then I sat down with my guitar and I didn't have any intention of writing a radio hit. Basically, I was writing something as if you were writing something down in your journal or your diary. Because if you speak those words: “They said I'd never make it, But still here I am, Lot a folks tried to change me, But I'm still the same man. You might think it's easy, This life on this road, But you can't hardly please me, Unless I'm playin' these shows.” It was more of a poem and a personal encouragement, kind of a cry for myself to find that personal encouragement and that fire to keep on going. There are days that I think that I can't make it through, but I do. It was one of those things that I sat around and wrote almost as a personal therapy session. I called Trent and I played it for him on the phone, then he changed some lines that were very pivotal but we only had a first verse and a chorus. The following week, I went out to work and two of my best friends in the world: Noe Quintanilla and Codrick Murphy, Noe is my personal assistant, Codrick is over in hospitality. Codrick is also one of my old bull riding partners from when I was a kid, we've known each other since we were fourteen and I said, y'all check this out, I played them the first person in the chorus. Noe said I think that the first verse is the second verse, so what’s the first verse? Then we started talking about it and the song was done at three o’clock in the morning.”
Something that people will see with this record and also appearing on Dan + Shay's album is along with other things that you've done is that you're subtly becoming the king of collabs. You're not quite at DJ Khaled or Calvin Harris level just yet but we've got a couple of cool ones on and firstly there is the one with Luke, who's obviously another guy that's doing pretty well over here. He played a couple of tiny little shows to eighty odd thousand people a night at Wembley so I reckon he will do all right but "Shoot The Bull" when you look at the writers on there, Drew Parker and Ray Fulcher are his guys! How did that song come to you and how did it end up being that Luke was the guy to come on it with you? Was it heavily due to that writing connection?
“Well, you gotta think, Josh Phillips wrote “Dirt Cheap” and if you go through “Banks Of The Trinity” look how many times Josh Phillips pops up. I was so impressed that Josh wrote “Dirt Cheap” by himself, which as a song writer, I mean, hats off to you, you wrote a six time platinum song by yourself, that’s incredible, that’s nuts. Josh, Drew and Ray have this connection, Drew's been on tour with me before, I've been duck hunting with Ray and we've talked about songs for years. What I really think happened is those guys all got together behind our back and they did something that is a very bold move as song writers. They wrote something that is so specific to myself and Luke Combs, that it was either going to be a big hit or it was going to be horrible. That’s a bold move as a songwriter because it’s not like it was “Islands in the Stream” for Dolly and Kenny, that could have gone to several other male and females, but when you write specifically about the tattooed knuckles , the gold buckles, the Wildcard band and all that, it’s so specific that it has to be really good. It was, I heard it and I thought oh shoot, I guess I’ve gotta call Luke. I did and I said have you heard this? He said, I don’t know how we don’t cut it, it’s about me and it’s about you, so he immediately agreed and we both love the song. I hope that the timeline works out to where we can release it as a single and do a music video, because I think what that would do is that would spark more shows together. Getting those moments, either on award shows or on stage together somewhere, whether it be in the UK or the States but it’s a really fun tune.”
Then the other one has TJ and John (Brothers Osborne) on, so what made you think this needs John to show why he is the best guitarist on earth and his brothers voice on it?
“Immediately, I didn't make it through the first chorus when I heard the demo and I said this is Brothers Osborne. What’s really cool about that is I am a huge Brothers Osborne fan, there’s not a single piece of music that they've ever put out that I don't have on my phone or my computer. I mean, I love TJ's voice. It’s like butter on a biscuit and I love John's guitar, it’s his right hand. They saying when you play guitar, that your left hand is what you know, your right hand is who you are and he’s one of the most incredible guitar players of our generation. What's interesting is when I called those guys and management started talking, they were very quick to say, well, that's funny, you want us on your record and we we’ve got a song we want you to listen to for our record too. So, it wound up being kind of a cool exchange and their song is not out yet, it’s yet to come but it’s been so fun working with them and I’m honoured to have them on the record.”
“Well, you gotta think, Josh Phillips wrote “Dirt Cheap” and if you go through “Banks Of The Trinity” look how many times Josh Phillips pops up. I was so impressed that Josh wrote “Dirt Cheap” by himself, which as a song writer, I mean, hats off to you, you wrote a six time platinum song by yourself, that’s incredible, that’s nuts. Josh, Drew and Ray have this connection, Drew's been on tour with me before, I've been duck hunting with Ray and we've talked about songs for years. What I really think happened is those guys all got together behind our back and they did something that is a very bold move as song writers. They wrote something that is so specific to myself and Luke Combs, that it was either going to be a big hit or it was going to be horrible. That’s a bold move as a songwriter because it’s not like it was “Islands in the Stream” for Dolly and Kenny, that could have gone to several other male and females, but when you write specifically about the tattooed knuckles , the gold buckles, the Wildcard band and all that, it’s so specific that it has to be really good. It was, I heard it and I thought oh shoot, I guess I’ve gotta call Luke. I did and I said have you heard this? He said, I don’t know how we don’t cut it, it’s about me and it’s about you, so he immediately agreed and we both love the song. I hope that the timeline works out to where we can release it as a single and do a music video, because I think what that would do is that would spark more shows together. Getting those moments, either on award shows or on stage together somewhere, whether it be in the UK or the States but it’s a really fun tune.”
Then the other one has TJ and John (Brothers Osborne) on, so what made you think this needs John to show why he is the best guitarist on earth and his brothers voice on it?
“Immediately, I didn't make it through the first chorus when I heard the demo and I said this is Brothers Osborne. What’s really cool about that is I am a huge Brothers Osborne fan, there’s not a single piece of music that they've ever put out that I don't have on my phone or my computer. I mean, I love TJ's voice. It’s like butter on a biscuit and I love John's guitar, it’s his right hand. They saying when you play guitar, that your left hand is what you know, your right hand is who you are and he’s one of the most incredible guitar players of our generation. What's interesting is when I called those guys and management started talking, they were very quick to say, well, that's funny, you want us on your record and we we’ve got a song we want you to listen to for our record too. So, it wound up being kind of a cool exchange and their song is not out yet, it’s yet to come but it’s been so fun working with them and I’m honoured to have them on the record.”
One last one and I think with this tour, it's obviously great that you're coming back and people can't wait to see you but one of the things the fans are most excited about is that it has more of an American show type feel to what we're used to, where it's not just one support act. You've got a huge support act and someone else that is amazing before Parker. Emily Ann came over at the start of the year and probably apart from Brooks and Dunn, she was the most talked about person at C2C, so people are really pumped to have her back and obviously it's going to be Parker's first time coming over here, so apart from Mr McCollum being a Houston Texans fan, tell us how great it is to have those guys over with you.
“Ha-ha, what’s great about him apart from being a Houston Texans fan?”
I'm a Cowboys fan, dude.
“I am too brother!”
That’s great to hear.
“Emily Ann Roberts could sing the phone book and I would buy it. She one of the most underrated artists in country music and I predict that she is just one song away from becoming the next Ella Langley or the next Lainey Wilson. She's so close to stardom that I feel that she deserves so much. Really and truly to her core, she is a beautiful person inside and out, I am a big fan and that’s why I said if we are going to do three acts, I want Emily to be able to come over and follow up. Like you said, one of the smartest things that she’s doing is coming back! A lot of artists go to different places but they don’t follow up, even here in the United States, as a young artist if you’re from Texas and you go and play in Missouri in November, you need to be going back to Missouri in February and following up, giving those people another taste of what you are, but also proving for a second time that you can show up and deliver upon your performance. As far as Parker goes, I've had the benefit, the honour and the pleasure over the course of my career of being the older guy of Parker calling and asking me for advice. I know what that’s like because I’ve had artists in my career that I’ve called to ask for advice, you know when I’m burned out of I’m ready to quit or I'm ready to go get a job, but they’ve said don't, just keep pushing. I've been able to pass a lot of that down to Parker, Luke Combs opened the door for me in Australia and the UK when he brought me over and I'm getting to do that for Parker. I know that he'll make good on a second performance when he comes back on his own.”
Amazing. I appreciate your time so much this morning, we’re really looking forward to you coming back in a month and a half or so and fingers crossed by the time you come, Dak will have taken us to be sitting at 7 and 0. That’s the hope and you know all too well as a fellow Cowboys fan is that it is the hope that kills us but hey I think Von Miller will bring that winning mentality which the dressing room needs.
“It’s funny, I talked to John Hickman the other day who was Jerry Jones's right hand man and I said, I'm coming on January third, me and the guys are gonna come up to the game, I'm bringing the bus, so can you park me? Yes, I’ve got you, you’re gonna be in jerry’s suite! I said there’s a Rolex watch called The Cowboy and this is the year, I brought The Cowboy and I’m gonna wear it to the game. He said if we go to the playoffs, I get to wear that Rolex until we win the Super Bowl and I said john, there’s still time to screw it up ha-ha.”
Well, Cowboys Nation will be hoping you’ll be wearing that Rolex a lot and we'll see you next month.
Cody Johnson Live ’26 UK & Irish dates
24th October – AO Arena, Manchester
27th October – The 02, London
1st November – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
2nd November – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
4th November – SSE Arena, Belfast
5th November – 3 Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Cody Johnson returns to Europe next month for six shows where he will be joined by Parker McCollum and Emily Ann Roberts (except Manchester) with dates and venues listed above, whilst last remaining ticket information can be found on his WEBSITE. The newest album “Banks Of The Trinity” is out now and available HERE whilst you can keep up to date with all that Cody is up to by following along socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK.
“Ha-ha, what’s great about him apart from being a Houston Texans fan?”
I'm a Cowboys fan, dude.
“I am too brother!”
That’s great to hear.
“Emily Ann Roberts could sing the phone book and I would buy it. She one of the most underrated artists in country music and I predict that she is just one song away from becoming the next Ella Langley or the next Lainey Wilson. She's so close to stardom that I feel that she deserves so much. Really and truly to her core, she is a beautiful person inside and out, I am a big fan and that’s why I said if we are going to do three acts, I want Emily to be able to come over and follow up. Like you said, one of the smartest things that she’s doing is coming back! A lot of artists go to different places but they don’t follow up, even here in the United States, as a young artist if you’re from Texas and you go and play in Missouri in November, you need to be going back to Missouri in February and following up, giving those people another taste of what you are, but also proving for a second time that you can show up and deliver upon your performance. As far as Parker goes, I've had the benefit, the honour and the pleasure over the course of my career of being the older guy of Parker calling and asking me for advice. I know what that’s like because I’ve had artists in my career that I’ve called to ask for advice, you know when I’m burned out of I’m ready to quit or I'm ready to go get a job, but they’ve said don't, just keep pushing. I've been able to pass a lot of that down to Parker, Luke Combs opened the door for me in Australia and the UK when he brought me over and I'm getting to do that for Parker. I know that he'll make good on a second performance when he comes back on his own.”
Amazing. I appreciate your time so much this morning, we’re really looking forward to you coming back in a month and a half or so and fingers crossed by the time you come, Dak will have taken us to be sitting at 7 and 0. That’s the hope and you know all too well as a fellow Cowboys fan is that it is the hope that kills us but hey I think Von Miller will bring that winning mentality which the dressing room needs.
“It’s funny, I talked to John Hickman the other day who was Jerry Jones's right hand man and I said, I'm coming on January third, me and the guys are gonna come up to the game, I'm bringing the bus, so can you park me? Yes, I’ve got you, you’re gonna be in jerry’s suite! I said there’s a Rolex watch called The Cowboy and this is the year, I brought The Cowboy and I’m gonna wear it to the game. He said if we go to the playoffs, I get to wear that Rolex until we win the Super Bowl and I said john, there’s still time to screw it up ha-ha.”
Well, Cowboys Nation will be hoping you’ll be wearing that Rolex a lot and we'll see you next month.
Cody Johnson Live ’26 UK & Irish dates
24th October – AO Arena, Manchester
27th October – The 02, London
1st November – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
2nd November – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
4th November – SSE Arena, Belfast
5th November – 3 Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Cody Johnson returns to Europe next month for six shows where he will be joined by Parker McCollum and Emily Ann Roberts (except Manchester) with dates and venues listed above, whilst last remaining ticket information can be found on his WEBSITE. The newest album “Banks Of The Trinity” is out now and available HERE whilst you can keep up to date with all that Cody is up to by following along socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK.