First Annual ‘Cody Johnson Championship Event’ Announced

Cody Johnson has announced the first annual 'Cody Johnson Championship Event' which will be held in Belton, Texas from October 15 through the 19. The country star has revealed a packed lineup of events including roping, golf, a gala, and more, all benefiting charity.

Johnson, who is currently out on the road for his headlining 'The Leather Tour' and making stops at select festivals this summer, will be taking part in the festivities all week long. While additional information and performances will be announced soon, the main events will take place at the Cadence Bank Center Arena.

"Save the date for the first annual Cody Johnson championship with the @cojoroping on Oct 15-19! This is an old George Strait style bracket along with a 12.5 and 10.5 Businessman’s, with a huge prize line. There will be a golf tournament as well as a Champs for Charity Gala that I will be emceeing. All proceeds benefit charity! See y’all in October in Belton Texas. Follow @cojoroping to stay informed," Johnson posted on Instagram.

"A Cowboy puts his heart and soul into everything he does and has a never give up attitude. The COJO Open will showcase the best ropers in the world battling it out for the coveted title of being the Champion with life changing money and prize line. For those weekend cowboys, the event has the same life changing money for the amateurs and an arena to show off their skills for a championship title," @CoJORoping captioned their latest post.

"The Cody Johnson Championship Event' mission is to collaborate with the Western lifestyle industry and the sport of team roping to champion community solidarity for survivors of human trafficking by assisting the Different Day residential program and support charities that make a difference to our communities."

Tickets for 'The Cody Johnson Championship Event' go on sale Wednesday, July 10. Visit cojoteamroping.com for more information.

Cody Johnson is well on his way to becoming one of country music's bigges stars. The former rodeo star, who now sells out arenas with high-action music concerts, is an award favorite at the CMA and ACMs.

Johnson makes sure he always leaves the audience with a memorable performance when it comes to taking the stage, whether at one of his concerts or an awards show. He told us, "Leave nothing behind. We play this show like it's the last show we're ever going to play. This is the show we get remembered for. I hit the stage with the exact same mentality and the exact same intensity every single night because we're not guaranteed tomorrow, so it's like you gotta go out there, and you gotta play it like it's the last one. You gotta play it with the same intensity as if you're never going to get to do it again."

Cody added, "Now, after the fact, we can be like, 'Man, that was cool,' but when you're in the moment… you're like, leave no doubt, leave nothing behind, make sure they remember your name."

Jan. 19 -- Sacramento, Calif. @ Golden 1 Center
Jan. 20 -- Anaheim, Calif. @ Honda Center
Jan. 26 -- San Diego, Calif. @ Pechanga Arena
Jan. 27 -- Glendale, Ariz. @ Desert Diamond Arena
Feb. 2 -- Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Feb. 9 -- Wichita, Kan. @ Intrust Bank Arena
Feb. 10 -- N. Little Rock, Ark. @ Simmons Bank Arena
Feb. 16 -- Sunrise, Fla. @ Amerant Bank Arena
Feb. 17 -- Jacksonville, Fla. @ Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
March 16 -- Birmingham, Ala. @ Legacy Arena @ BJCC
June 1 -- Panama City Beach, Fla. @ Gulf Coast Jam
June 14 -- N. Lawrence, Ohio @ The Country Fest
July 11 -- Ft. Loramie, Ohio @ Country Concert @ Hickory Hills Lakes

As he gears up to hit the road this weekend (1/19), we take a look at four amazing music videos.

This is Cody's first song released under the Warner Brothers record label in Nashville. Although he did not write this song, Johnson says the song reflects on his many hardships and heartbreaks en route to finding the girl he's meant to be with forever. The lyrics of the song's chorus include: "All the stars I've seen / All the songs I've sung / All the beers I've drank / All the damage done / I was just passin' time / Kinda just passin' through / On my way to you."

This music video includes scenes of "fishing excursions, classic-car rebuilding sessions, family dinners" interspersed with footage of Johnson delivering a fiery solo performance of the song. He said of the video, "I love the storyline in the video. You think it's going in one direction, and then suddenly, you are surprised at the turn of events. When they sent me the rough edit of the video, it was so powerful and brought tears to my eyes. It put into perspective the song that I had been singing for months."

The song won the Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year and Video of the Year at the 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards in 2022.

Johnson wrote the song as a very personal tribute to his previous career in bull riding, which struck a chord with Reba McEntire, who grew up on a family ranch competing in barrel racing.

Reba said, "It was a thrill to sing 'Dear Rodeo' with Cody because we're both from the rodeo world. I grew up in a rodeo family; I'm a third-generation rodeo brat. So the song means a lot to me because I did leave rodeo to be in the country music business. I sure miss it."

Cody added, "The story behind 'Dear Rodeo' is more a story about life and less about rodeo. I feel like everybody has their own 'Dear Rodeo' story, and when I found out that Reba was impacted by this song enough to want to do a duet, it was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done in my career."

This music video shows the former bull rider riding horses and also scenes of him playing live in concert. It also shows video clips of Johnson roping cattle in a rodeo arena setting. Cody said that "Human" is his most autobiographical song to date.