Cody Johnson and Brooks & Dunn joined forces to deliver the live debut of their duet, “Long Live Country Music.” In the midst of Johnson’s Nashville concert on Friday evening (Feb. 2) at Bridgestone Arena, the Texas native surprised the crowd when he brought out the iconic country duo to join him for a performance of the tune.
“We got a few things we’ve got to set up for some special guests this evening…” Johnson told the capacity crowd as his crew set the stage for Brooks & Dunn‘s arrival. “This is what you call live music. How many of you know what tracks are? Anybody know what that is? For those of you that don’t know, tracks are whenever somebody’s sitting over here on a computer, and they’re just playing stuff, and it’s not really going on onstage. I come from the honky tonks, I come from the bars and the dance halls. There ain’t no tracks on my stage, this is seven guys working our ass off playing real country music for you guys tonight.”
He then introduced the award-winning “Neon Moon” singers to the stage. “I know a couple other guys that worked their ass off growing up playing in the bars and the honky tonks. Their names are Brooks & Dunn, welcome to the stage here tonight,” Johnson said, which prompted a thunderous applause.
“I’ve strived my whole career to try to keep country music alive because of these two men right here and the way they influenced me,” Cody Johnson added before he and Brooks & Dunn performed their traditional country-leaning collaboration.
Watch Johnson And Brooks & Dunn’s Performance Of “Long Live Country Music” Below
Johnson, donning his signature Resistol cowboy hat, a pearl-snap work shirt, and a pair of Wrangler jeans complete with a belt buckle, and Brooks & Dunn went on to perform the song.
“Long live country music/ Long live longnecks, bar stools, neon Saturday nights/ Oh, long live country music/ May that three-chord dirt-road soundtrack to our lives/ Never die,” the trio of country hitmakers sang on the chorus.
Following the performance, Johnson, in a state of shock, told the sold-out crowd, “I just played a song with Brooks & Dunn.”
The Story Of How “Long Live Country Music” Came Together
Co-written by Trent Willmon, who also produced the track, alongside Phil O’Donnell and Wade Kirby, “Long Live Country Music” appears on Johnson’s latest album, Leather.
The song serves as a love letter to the country music genre. “Long Live Country Music” references iconic country staples such as Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine,” Grand Ole Opry, rodeos and honky tonks as well as country music legends like Patsy Cline.
During a recent interview with Music Mayhem, Johnson explained that the collaboration came very naturally.
“I think it was the CMT Awards [and] I accepted an award on stage. I said, ‘Long live country music,’ and the rest is history,” he shared. “That night, they wrote that song after what I’d said.” He then detailed that it was a great deal of back and forth between Johnson and Brooks & Dunn to decide who was going to cut the track, before coming to the conclusion that they should do it together.
At the time, Johnson revealed that he has a great deal of respect and admiration for Brooks & Dunn, likely due to the fact that they are fellow cowboys and some of his musical influences.
“I do believe that it’s a great opportunity to stand up with a bunch of guys that did it the way I did it,” he explained. “They grew up playing honky tonks, playing bars… They’ve got that deep country heritage of hard work — go get it, nobody’s going to hand it to you… The ’80s and ’90s and early 2000s, the sound of Brooks and Dunn, that’s emphatic, and really that’s one of the biggest things about having them on there, because I feel like the three of us… we still stand for country music. We don’t want to water it down. We want it straight up.”
The Song Appears On Cody Johnson’s New Album, Leather
Leather arrived in November 2023. The 12-track project features his current single “The Painter,” which currently sits in the Top 10 at Country radio, as well as fan-favorite tunes such as “Dirt Cheap,” “Make Me A Mop,” “Whiskey Beat (feat. Jelly Roll),” and more.
“This round of songs, I have to say, is the best round of songs I have ever recorded, and I feel like that’s the way it should be,” Johnson previously shared in a statement. “Each album should outdo the last one.”
Earlier this year, Cody Johnson told us that there will be a deluxe version of the album coming in the near future, which will feature 12 more new songs in addition to the project’s original 12 tracks. “I would like to release twelve to give people a chance to digest, to really go through these twelve songs and figure out what their favorites are, what their least favorites are, and live with it for a little while, then they can have the next twelve,” he revealed, describing the release as “kind of an appetizer-entree situation.”
One song that we know will appear on the forthcoming deluxe edition of the album is his highly-anticipated collaboration with Carrie Underwood.
The Leather Tour
Cody Johnson is currently in the midst of his headlining Leather Tour, which kicked off on January 19 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
Joining Johnson as support on select dates of the trek are Justin Moore, Dillon Carmichael, Chris Janson and Drake Milligan. The trek currently runs until September.
For more information on Cody Johnson’s new music and upcoming tour dates, visit his official website, at codyjohnsonmusic.com.
