The New Cody Johnson Album Could Be a Big One
Cody Johnson is already one of the biggest artists in country music. His name is now perennially considered beside the other titans of the country industry when it comes time to name an Entertainer of the Year at the CMA and ACM Awards. That will be the case on Sunday, May 17th at the 2026 ACM Awards when Cody is up against Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, and Megan Moroney.
But there are multiple things that distinguish Cody Johnson from the rest of that field. Johnson came up via the Texas scene, cultivating strong grassroots support before ever courting Nashville to take it national. Even if his industry support imploded tomorrow, Johnson would still have a strong fan base to fall back on. Johnson’s also not a radio star, propped up by the well-ordered carousel of #1’s that guarantee a single hits the top spot.
And most importantly, Cody Johnson is actually country, traditional country in many of his songs, but with a pragmatic sensibility that the masses have found favor with. And now that traditional country continues to surge in popularity, Cody Johnson could be poised to take this thing to an entirely new level.
Ahead of Johnson being considered for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the year on Sunday’s ACM Awards, he’s released the track list and further details for his upcoming album Banks Of The Trinity, which references the river that snakes through east Texas that Johnson grew up around. The 16-track album will be released on June 26th, and once again is produced by Trent Willmon.
The album will feature collaborations with Brothers Osborne and Luke Combs. What it won’t feature is a lot of songwriting from Cody Johnson. In fact, the only songs he contributed to were the final song on the album, the solo-written “Yippy Ty Oh Hey Hey,” and a co-write on the 14th track “Time Bomb.”
But just like his hero George Strait, Cody Johnson knows that the best songs should win out on a track list. And just like George Strait, Johnson has shown a strong propensity of picking those good songs over the years.
One of the early singles from the new album called “Hello Lonesome” is traditional country gold (listen below). Cody’s planning to release his collaboration with Brothers Osborne “Fool Proof” on Friday (5-15).
Banks Of The Trinity is now available for pre-save/pre-order.
TRACK LIST:
1.   Horseback
Written by Randy Montana, Wyatt McCubbin, Paul Sikes
2. Hello Lonesome
Written by Jimmy Yeary, Seth Mosley, Matt Rogers
3. Fool Proof (featuring Brothers Osborne)
Written by Jeff Hyde, Jason Scott, Jared Conrad
4. Take Me Back (Leave Me There)
Written by Kelly Archer, Troy Cartwright, Pete Good
5. Banks of the Trinity
Written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, Josh Kear
6. I Want You
Written by Tom Douglas, Tony Lane, Matt Rogers
7. I Have
Written by Matt Schuster, Devin Dawson, Adam Yaron
8. Bible For A Boy (For Jaycee)
Written by Lydia Vaughn, Beau Bailey, Josh Phillips, Joe Fox, Andrew Stoelzing
9. Kissing A Married Woman
Written by Beau Bailey, Josh Phillips, Brock Berryhill, Cole Miracle
10. Every Man
Written by Travis Meadows, Gordie Sampson, Drew Kennedy
11. Motel Miss You
Written by Ryan Larkins, Seth Mosley, Emma-Lee
12. Shoot The Bull (featuring Luke Combs)
Written by Ray Fulcher, Casey Brown, Josh Phillips, Drew Parker
13. Cricket On A Hook
Written by Josh Phillips, Mark Holman, Jeremy Stover
14. Time Bomb
Written by Cody Johnson, Trent Willmon, Noe Quantanilla, Codrick Murphy
15. Thank Somebody Country
Written by Jordan Schmidt, Chase McGill, Trannie Anderson, Michael Hardy
16. Yippy Ty Oh Hey Hey
Written by Cody Johnson
May 13, 2026 @ 11:50 am
10. Every Man
Written by Travis Meadows, Gordie Sampson, Drew Kennedy. is this the same Drew Kennedy that teams with Josh Grider from time to time? He has a song from 2017 called Cream and Sugar that is one of my favorite songs ever written.
May 13, 2026 @ 12:31 pm
Yes, I believe that is the Drew Kennedy of Drew Kennedy fame, and it was cool to see his name in the track list.
May 14, 2026 @ 9:34 am
Confirmed on DK’s Instagram.
May 13, 2026 @ 1:01 pm
I have enjoyed his music. I thought Leather was very good and saw him in concert last year and he was so good, I am seeing him again this year. I am looking forward to his new album.
May 13, 2026 @ 1:25 pm
For “Fool Proof” is Jason Scott of Jason Scott & the High Heat
May 13, 2026 @ 1:31 pm
“Johnson’s also not a radio star”
That’s simply not true. It’s been a long, slow climb, but “The Fall” is #2 on Mediabase this week and likely to hit #1 next week. And every single he’s released off the last album has made it to at least the top five.
May 13, 2026 @ 1:57 pm
Right now Cody Johnson has two #1s on radio. Out of his last three singles, “Dirt Cheap” stalled at #5, “I’m Gonna Leave You” with Carrie Underwood stalled at #3, and as you said, “The Fall” might get to #1 next week.
Thomas Rhett has 25 #1 singles. If Thomas Rhett releases a single, it’s going to #1. Cole Swindell has 13 #1 singles and is a club act. Cody Johnson could win Entertainer of the Year on Sunday.
What I said in the article was, “Johnson’s also not a radio star, propped up by the well-ordered carousel of #1’s that guarantee a single hits the top spot.”
That is very, very true. He’s built his career off of grassroots support.
May 13, 2026 @ 1:46 pm
could be a big pandering autotuned turd.
May 13, 2026 @ 2:37 pm
Well, I don’t know about that, but Hello Lonesome is straight up Country.
May 13, 2026 @ 2:48 pm
“Thank Somebody Country” screams pandering 10,000 miles away and Hardy being attached as a co-writer pretty much confirms that.
That said, I am cautiously optimistic with folks like Drew Kennedy and Travis Meadows involved.
Ultimately I’m not sure this album will move the needle much for me when it comes to Johnson. My opinion of him has been one of quiet respect thanks to him generally being one of the more traditional sounding artists able to get played on radio, but on the flipside as someone who gravitates to “grittier” song content, some of his “Hallmark Ready” songs leave me unenthused.
May 13, 2026 @ 4:08 pm
I hope he returns to Brazil someday.
May 13, 2026 @ 4:37 pm
This song isnt bad but it falls short of being great. Country it is though. Its kind of where cody is for me. Hes ok but just that, ok at least as far as his more recent stuff. Good luck to him though.
May 13, 2026 @ 5:22 pm
Actially listened to kenny chesneys new song called carry on. Actually pretty good if not predictable. Ive liked some of his stuff but not a whole lot lately. But this song isnt bad.
May 13, 2026 @ 9:08 pm
That’s interesting. I listened to it and thought it sounded like it belonged as a filler track on one of his earlier albums (like album #1 or #2). Weak hook, weak lyrics, weak performance. It sounds to me like Kenny is just phoning it in these days.
May 13, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
I first saw him in concert opening for Aaron Watson at a bar in Manhattan, KS back in 2014 I think, been a fan the whole time. Still have the signed ticket stub from the show. Have every CD he has put out and will add this one to my library. He is a great guy is an added bonus!
May 14, 2026 @ 11:46 am
Drew Kennedy, of “French Summer Sun” yeah I’ll spin this. Jason Scott is under-rated with a pen, too, “Cleveland County Line” is stupid good in spots, and “Me and Maryanne” as fine as a old western movie gets – and ya don’t even need three hours n butter for the popcorn.