After continuously teasing new music to come over the past year and a cryptic Instagram post yesterday, Cody Johnson has finally announced the release of his next project.
Marking Johnson’s tenth studio album, Banks of the Trinity, will drop on Friday, June 26. In today’s social media announcement post, the Texas native shared a photo of the cover art, which features a rustic photograph of “Lawrence’s Groccery Store,” the local mart near Johnson’s childhood home.
“As a kid, I used to ride my bike two miles down an old dirt road just to get a cream soda and a Blue Bell ice cream bar. I’d sit there and listen to the old men talk for a while before heading back home with a basket of groceries.”
Emphasizing his red dirt roots, the now 38-year-old aims to reflect on his fondest memories and the place that raised him. The title track, written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, and Josh Kear, lit something inside of him, noting when he heard the song for the first time, “it was like a portrait flashed in my head of memories I thought I’d forgotten. It took me straight back home to Sebastopol, Texas, where I grew up on the river.”
He emphasizes, “This record is my way of going back to those dirt roads,” while also hoping it will offer fans a better look into his origins, adding, “I can’t wait for you to come with me on that journey back.”
With it now being over two years since the release of his last project, Leather, followed by the deluxe edition a year later, and of course, a few singles since then, including his most recent cover of Merle Haggard’s “Footlights,” the country CMA Male Vocalist of the Year has listeners consistently itching for more. As previously hinted at, and now confirmed by Billboard, this album will feature a couple of collaborations, including “Fool Proof” with Brothers Osborne and Luke Combs on the track, “Shoot The Bull.”
Tying out the album, the last track will also be a rare solo write for Johnson titled, “Yippy Ty Oh Hey Hey.” The first single, “I Want You,” will drop tonight at midnight, ushering in this reminiscent era for the country music star.
The album will also come amidst Johnson’s heavy schedule this year on the Live ’26 World Tour, joined by Parker McCollum, Clint Black, Randy Houser, Kip Moore, Ian Munsick, and Scotty McCreery. Returning to the road this Saturday, April 18, in St Louis, Missouri, and rounding out on November 5 in Dublin, surely some changes to the set list will be inbound soon.