Cody Johnson Brings Out Brooks & Dunn to Perform ‘Long Live Country Music’ in Nashville

Cody Johnson surprised the crowd at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena by performing his much-loved anthem, ‘Long Live Country Music’, alongside genre legends, Brooks & Dunn. The uptempo, traditional-leaning song appears on Cody's 2023 project, Leather.

The high-energy track pays tribute to the forefathers of country, with the man affectionately known as ‘CoJo’ introducing his unexpected guests following a speech about the importance of still performing with real instruments, rather than computer ‘tracks’.

CoJo shared, “How many of you know what tracks are? Anybody know what that is? For those of you that don't know, tracks are whenever there’s somebody sitting over there on a computer, and they’re playing stuff that’s not really going on on-stage”.

He went on to stress how much he values authenticity in country music, which laid the perfect foundation for the upcoming song, “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 asses off to play real country music for you up here today”.

The Texan then teased the immanent introduction of his guests, “I know a couple of other guys that worked their asses off growing up playing in the bars and the honky-tonks. Their names are ‘Brooks & Dunn’. I’ve strived my whole career to try to keep country music alive because of these two men right here and how they influenced me”.

With the three artists clearly energised from Cody Johnson’s galvanising words about the importance of tradition in country music, the performance carried an additional edge and intensity.

Revolving around a raucous, rallying hook, ‘Long Live Country Music’ has quickly blossomed into a fan-favourite, with attendees keenly looking forward to the track in his setlist.

The momentous joint performance with Brooks & Dunn arrived during Cody Johnson's sold-out show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, with the ‘Work Boots’ hitmaker taking to his socials afterwards to emphasise his gratitude for fans’ support, “Thanks y’all for a sold out show at the Bridgestone Arena that set a record for the most tickets ever sold by a male artist for their debut performance. I’m blown away and grateful for every last one of y’all. We’re just getting started”.

For more on Cody Johnson, see below: