2018 Will Be The Year of Cody Jinks in Country

It’s time. It’s time for Cody Jinks.
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Here we are the day after the 2018 Grammy Awards and a few days shy of February, and though you may have not filed your taxes yet or finished getting all of that remaining Christmas crap back into the attic, we’re finally able to tie a nice, tidy bow around 2017 in the country music department.
Jason Isbell won big at the Grammy Awards in the Americana realm with his recent effort The Nashville Sound, Chris Stapleton remains the king of the mainstream with a 3 for 3 sweep of the awards he was nominated for including Best Country Album. And we’re still trying to properly digest what happened on Saturday Night Live the night before between Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson. All the end-of-year lists and critic’s polls have been published, with Margo Price and Tyler Childers faring quite well. And it’s only fair to recognize how Aaron Watson stretched the boundaries for an independent artist on radio in 2017 more than ever before.
It all sets up for what could be a very positive 2018 in country music, and there’s already a lot to look forward to, in both the short and long term. One of the best albums of the year may have already been released in the form of Caitlyn Smith’s Starfire. It’s so good it would be criminal to overlook. If you’re looking for a band like Midland without all the baggage, Mike and the Moonpies release their latest record Steak Night at the Prairie Rose on February 2nd that should finally get them out of the shadows, and into the more national perspective they deserve. Whitey Morgan is supposed to have a new album on the way, and we’ve been waiting patiently for the long-rumored Ben Haggard debut project that could emerge in 2018. And there’s always something unexpected lurking out there from a new artist we’ve never heard of, like Zephaniah OHora showed us in 2017, and Dori Freeman the year before.
But in many respects, this all feels like the setup, and the window dressing for what might be the biggest moment in real, true, independent country music in 2018, which will be the release of the latest album from Cody Jinks.
It’s not that we have any reason to believe the new Cody Jinks record will be something incredibly groundbreaking or out of this world. The truth is Cody Jinks has been releasing stellar records for years now—it’s his consistency that has been groundbreaking. The only question for his core fans is if the new record will be any better than his best. The thing keeping Cody from becoming one of those Mt. Rushmore names in the alternative to country music’s mainstream has never been the quality of the music, it’s simply been the name recognition and the national consciousness awaking to what it has in its midst with Cody.
It’s often talked about how Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Jason Isbell make imperfect country music “saviors” for true country fans to get behind 100%. First off, it’s not fair to label any artist a “savior,” including Cody Jinks. That’s an unfair burden, and not even really a distinction for the present tense to decide. Performers just need to do their jobs as artists and write, record, and perform the best music they can and let the cards fall where they may.
But it’s true, from a real country music perspective, Jason Isbell is way more Americana, Sturgill Simpson has veered away from his country roots, and Chris Stapleton is more of a rootsy R&B singer in a country hat. Not to take anything away from any of these guys. For some listeners, that’s exactly what they’re looking for. Too often in the emotional realm of fandom, folks make way too much of the fallible nature of artists, and dramatically overlook their positive attributes and contributions when they should be happy that artists like Stapleton, Isbell, and Sturgill are getting so much of the attention as opposed to Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, and Jason Aldean.
But that’s the thing about Cody Jinks. Cody hasn’t spent his career slowly drifting away from his roots. He’s spent his career re-affirming them, grasping them tighter, and doubling down on a traditional country sound. Cody Jinks has those same songwriting qualities as those other top tier songwriters and performers in the business, a voice and sound that resonates deep and wide among country music fans traditional and otherwise, but even more so, he’s got no compromise.
The other thing Cody Jinks has is a plan, and a fan base. When Saving Country Music declared that 2013 would be the year of Sturgill Simpson, he was still a virtual unknown. Cody Jinks is already one of the biggest artists in independent country, able to sell out consecutive nights at the Ryman, and sell over 67,000 copies of his last record with no label. Yet still it’s like nobody is paying attention. Jinks has gotten so big, he’s having to turn down headliner spots at festivals like Tumbleweed, while he’s getting booked in prime spots at mega festivals like Stagecoach.
Maybe it’s because he’s from Texas and out of the purview of country music’s media apparatus in Nashville, or maybe it’s because the Cody Jinks strategy from the very beginning has been to put the fans first and let the media figure it out later. But even with the big and fervent fan base Cody Jinks enjoys already, his upside potential remains incredible, because the appetite for true country music has never been greater. If there’s any concern, it’s how Cody’s loyal fan base will react to more passive fans joining its ranks, making sure to understand that Cody Jinks needs to be theirs to share, and that elbow room may start to become a commodity at his shows very soon, and not just in Cody’s favorite markets.
Cody Jinks will release a new record in 2018. It will be named Lifers and it will be delivered in “no later than June.” And we also know it will be Cody Jinks, because that is who he is, and what he does.
And Cody Jinks isn’t perfect either. No human is. In fact that’s one of the underlying themes in Cody’s music. Some find him a little droning, and that’s okay. But he’s also not polarizing. Even if you can’t get behind Cody Jinks, there’s no need to shout him down. He’s never stubbed your toes, broken your heart, had you embarrassed you bought that fan tattoo for your left bicep.
Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Aaron Watson, Jamey Johnson, Hank3, and others helped create a new appetite for true country, and helped open doors for an artist with no compromise in their sound to walk through them. It just happens to be that in 2018, that door is open wider than ever, and right as Cody Jinks is hitting his stride.
Watch out.
January 29, 2018 @ 11:03 am
And hopefully this momentum will allow Mr. Jinks to fill the “Willie Nelson shoes” in The Highwaymen 2.0… (Wishful thinking)
January 29, 2018 @ 12:20 pm
Was the Highwaymen project realky any good? It’s just a bunch covers forced into collaborations that don’t really work. I love all four of those guys separately but in this supergroup, beyond the marketing, it just doesn’t work.
January 29, 2018 @ 12:26 pm
Wishful thinking that they could be more like the Traveling Wilburys and write new songs together. If nothing else, it means they might tour together.
January 29, 2018 @ 12:57 pm
I haven’t spent much time with the Traveling Wilburys albums. I think because they are very lengthy. I’ll have to check them out.
January 30, 2018 @ 3:59 pm
Silver stallion, America remains,
January 29, 2018 @ 1:33 pm
Highwaymen project was very hit and miss, but when they hit, they hit. “Highwayman” is a bona fide classic, and their covers of Guy Clark songs and some other stuff was really stellar. There are also quite a few duds.
January 29, 2018 @ 2:39 pm
If you wanna talk about duds, look no further than the Old Dogs project. That could have been great.
January 29, 2018 @ 7:34 pm
“Still gonna die” is still a great song.
January 30, 2018 @ 7:52 pm
The Highwaymen were amazing. Anyone who doesn’t think so would love a Rascal Flatts-Maroon 5 episode of Crossroads
January 29, 2018 @ 1:45 pm
I understand that you’re speaking hypothetically, but isn’t Lukas kind of already primed and ready for the Willie spot on a potential Highwaymen 2.0?
January 29, 2018 @ 11:06 am
Don’t know if you saw yet, but he’s announced the album’s name is Lifers.
January 29, 2018 @ 11:17 am
Yes, got it. Thanks! He announced this stuff right as I was writing this.
January 29, 2018 @ 11:12 am
He released on his Facebook page yesterday that the album is titled “Lifers” and is to be released no later than June. Can’t wait!
January 29, 2018 @ 11:25 am
Cody, Whitey Morgan, Ward Davis, Tony Martinez, and Sunny Sweeney.
That’s my dream tour for this year.
#Jinks2018
January 29, 2018 @ 7:38 pm
Martinez is the shit. Super personable and funny dude too. He has some great songs too, “”Local loser” reminds me so much of a guy I used to know.
January 29, 2018 @ 11:31 am
“And Cody Jinks isn’t perfect either. No human is. In fact that’s one of the underlying themes in Cody’s music.” And I think that’s what makes him so relatable to his fans. I listen to his music and think yep I’ve been there.
January 29, 2018 @ 11:38 am
It’s known that he’s cut songs by Billy Don Burns, Josh Morningstar and TN Jet for this record. So excited! This will be the year of Jinks for sure!
January 29, 2018 @ 11:39 am
What can us fans do to get this guy a Grammy?
January 29, 2018 @ 12:02 pm
Buy the record, tell a friend, go to a show. The Grammy Awards are peer voted, not industry voted like the CMAs and ACMs. If enough noise is behind an artist, the Grammys will (sometimes) recognize it. We’ve seen this with Sturgill who not only won Best Country Album, but was nominated for All Genre Album of the Year. It’s possible.
January 30, 2018 @ 9:17 am
Release a non country album with a full horn section and a nirvana cover
January 31, 2018 @ 12:56 pm
Lol! Love it
January 29, 2018 @ 11:40 am
Finally!
January 29, 2018 @ 12:00 pm
I’m going to see him live on February 8 and can’t WAIT! Plus, Sunny Sweeney and Ward Davis are openers! Dang!
January 29, 2018 @ 12:00 pm
Great article. You could not be more right.
January 29, 2018 @ 12:17 pm
I’m a huge Jinks fan and every album just gets better. If you were to put a qualifier by his name though (like you did Isbell, Sturgill, Stapleton), it would be his metal origins (similar, yet less successful than Hank 3) and his knack for too many covers in his show.
January 29, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
Looking forward to it.
Keep it country.
January 29, 2018 @ 12:31 pm
Any word on a new Whitey Morgan album yet?
January 29, 2018 @ 1:25 pm
I believe it is done as well. Would expect proper announcements on both soon.
January 29, 2018 @ 12:37 pm
Looking forward to a lot of rumored/announced albums this year, and Cody Jinks is definitely at the top of my list. I’ll buy it before I hear it, and I almost never do that; he’s earned that level of trust.
January 29, 2018 @ 1:29 pm
This guy is just another dude with good intentions and mediocre talent. And unfortunately, in this modern age, that’s really all that’s being offered.
This is party why I maintain that Country Music is dead. Everyone who shows the slightest bit of originality, has unremarkable talent. And everyone with remarkable talent, is a copycat.
January 29, 2018 @ 5:25 pm
You are funny. Keep ’em coming…
January 29, 2018 @ 6:09 pm
You may be correct in the sense that he isn’t a standout guitarist (even Cody admits that lead guitar just doesn’t click for him). However, he is a good songwriter (see: Somewhere in the Middle, Give all you Can, We Get By for examples) and has a strong voice which in my opinion sounds better live than on the recordings. Out of curiosity, are there any modern country singers that consider to be good?
January 29, 2018 @ 6:56 pm
Mo Pitney has a nice voice, and writes good songs, but doesn’t have the “it” qualities that make a star. Bradley Gaskin was a powerhouse vocalist of traditional Country Music, but I don’t think they ever even released his album.
I honestly can’t think of anybody else I’d spend my money on right now.
By the way, I appreciate you engaging me in a conversation, as opposed to simply dismissing me as a troll for not liking what you like.
January 29, 2018 @ 7:56 pm
Honky has also cited Midland as current dudes he respects. Not sure why he left that out.
January 30, 2018 @ 12:47 am
Honky, have you ever checked out Luke Bell? I think he might have a little bit more of the traditional style you’re always looking for.
January 30, 2018 @ 3:10 pm
Please give me another Luke Bell Album!!
January 29, 2018 @ 1:31 pm
Why 2017 was so important to me and why 2018 is looking even brighter. We go back to the 70’s movement we’re we have Waylon and Willie fighting Nashville to do it there way and they did. With that we got the outlaw project Waylon,Willie,Jessi and Tompall. Lead us to super group the Highwaymen Cash. Waylon, Willie and Kris. It’s what we all want in are music today the gold standard also I can’t forget Merle he in there to. So why ami so excited today will if there is two movements that feel much like the 70’s. One with Chris Stapleton,Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price with Jamey Johnson with them and then there’s Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan Sunny Sweeney and Ward Davis which feels like that outlaw album. So Iam looking so forward to Cody new album and be a part of this glorious movement and encourage everyone to share there music…
January 29, 2018 @ 1:45 pm
At least once day Cody gets spun in this household Just good, laid back country.
January 29, 2018 @ 2:35 pm
Good news. It would be interesting to see if Cody could get a Stapleton like momentum going. I know personally I’m much more aligned with Jink’s music and persona.
January 29, 2018 @ 4:01 pm
I wish him well. I just hope the fame doesn’t wear him down, and all the touring burn him out. I love his music, but, I like him as a person and hate what the wear and tear does.
(Which brings up and aside about Stapleton’s “lack of fire”. Can you imagine doing the same thing every night, night after night after night after night? That’s the main reason I say Willie is the epitome of “the wandering minstrel”. He endured, maintained and actually got better before age took its toll.)
Cody Jinks comes across as a really sincere guy who ‘earns’ my respect, then sings for me.The songs of his I enjoy most speak to this old man in a fashion few can. “Alone” has become my personal anthem and “I Cast No Stones” is my religion. My sons say the songs are me….
January 29, 2018 @ 9:08 pm
My two favorite songs. 🙂
January 29, 2018 @ 4:07 pm
Great article, Cody Jinks is a great artist and deserves to hit the big time.
January 29, 2018 @ 4:25 pm
If anyone deserves it, it’s Jinks.
January 29, 2018 @ 5:08 pm
“Not polarzing” this is why Cody is so awseome. No matter what side of the political Spectrum you live on, if you go to his show he’ll get everyone singing along about the things that really matter in life. In today’s politically charged environment, we could use a few more like him.
January 29, 2018 @ 7:43 pm
Here here!
January 29, 2018 @ 5:12 pm
This site is the reason I know who Cody Jinks is. For that alone, we owe Trigger a massive thanks. When I mentioned him on Facebook, a friend in TN was thrilled, she’s been a fan for years.
I push his music on everyone I know. And then friends who get hooked do the same.
Great guy, great voice, great shows.
January 29, 2018 @ 11:46 pm
Cody’s writing always reminds me of Haggard’s stuff. Lots of songs about the everyman. It’s great blue collar music. He may not have the best voice, or be the best guitar player, but who the hell says he has to be? In my opinion it all just “clicks” with Cody. He also puts on a great live show, and connects with his audience. I think he is one of the best grassroots stories we have in music today.
January 30, 2018 @ 7:45 am
One word for me sums this up. He wins it all for me with this one thing.
AUTHENTICITY.
If it sounds good, you’ll hear it.
If it looks good, you’ll see it,
If it’s marketed right, you’ll buy it.
But if it’s real, you’ll feel it.
– Kid Rock (believe it or not)
January 30, 2018 @ 9:02 am
Kids as stud
January 30, 2018 @ 12:51 am
A Jinks album and a Whitey album coming soon? This good news finds me as I sit here relaxing to some New Riders of the Purple Sage. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be another good year in country music, at least in our little independent community of fans of real country music.
January 30, 2018 @ 6:06 am
2018 is the year of the continued fall of Nashville, and the continued rise of Indie acts using the new media to their full advantage. That’s the wave Cody Jinks et al are riding.
January 30, 2018 @ 9:39 am
Waiting for this
January 30, 2018 @ 4:19 pm
YES. been holding my breath waiting on this one. stoked!
January 30, 2018 @ 5:43 pm
For real though, what country fan doesn’t like Jinks? I’ve yet to find a single one unless they haven’t heard of them. And when they do, they fall in love.
January 30, 2018 @ 7:23 pm
Uh, see above. Frequent SCM commenter Sr. Honkster of misery. He’s apparently not a fan.
January 31, 2018 @ 6:33 am
I’m not a fan. It’s not that I dislike his music, it just doesn’t click with me for some reason. He reminds me of Jamey Johnson, another guy that folks here love that I just can’t get in to.
February 1, 2018 @ 9:58 pm
I’m lukewarm on Jamey Johnson, too. I really like Cody, though.
February 1, 2018 @ 1:10 pm
You need to give up on this Midland thing. I dont think very many people give a shit if maybe they lied about how they got famous, they make good music and are certainly good for carrying on traditional country
February 1, 2018 @ 1:44 pm
I have, mostly. Even though they continue to lob grenades at me in interviews. Another one last week. It’s hard. I agree, they make music in the mainstream that is better than most, and I have gone out of my way to say that. Don’t really feel like I attacked them here, was just giving a passing mention to Mike and the Moonpies, and Midland helps give them some context.
February 1, 2018 @ 3:12 pm
Yeah I imagine it would get tiresome. What happened last week?
February 1, 2018 @ 2:17 pm
I saw Cody’s notes on social media about the new album. This is one I am anxiously awaiting. I was unaware that Whitey is putting out a new album as well. Both of those artists are perfect for sippin on a bourbon and cranking up the volume.
February 2, 2018 @ 2:45 pm
I really starting to love “I’m Not The Devil”. I would’ve never found him or it if not for this site. Looking forward to a new one and looking backward to go find his earlier stuff.