I think it goes without saying that 2026 has been an absolutely colossal year for Ella Langley.
Between beating— and extending— the record for the longest-running No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, acquiring an army of fans (Ella Fellas and beyond), bringing the house down at the ACM Awards with five trophies, and now leading the CMA nominations with a whopping nine nods— the Alabama native is unstoppable. Yet, despite reaching an unprecedented level of success, this is undoubtedly only the start for the 27-year-old who’s got quite a few more goals to check off her bucket list.
Earlier this year, following her well-known sophomore album release, Dandelion, Langley sat down with Billboard to discuss some of her career aspirations she hopes to tackle, including one that she is finally conquering tomorrow night. The “Choosin’ Texas” sensation shared that she’s always dreamed of headlining the iconic Red Rocks amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado (which, if you ask me, is a pretty epic goal).
With the extension of her 2026 tour, adding 21 new dates over the past few months, Langley finally got one step closer to that dream, hitting the amphitheater stage tomorrow night, October 7. As Langley pointed out in the interview, “I’ve opened Red Rocks, but I’ve never headlined Red Rocks,” namely joining Riley Green as a supporting act back in 2024.
Kickstarting her momentous Colorado show, Langley is also set to perform an intimate show tonight at the Grizzly Rose in Denver (yes, the same venue Garth Brooks made a surprise appearance at just a few weeks ago). In partnership with SiriusXM’s Small Stage series, Langley will perform at 7 p.m. MDT, and I already can’t wait to watch all the low-key performances pop up on social media tonight and tomorrow.
While the end of the year may quickly be creeping up on us, including Langley’s Dandelion tour wrapping up on October 31 in St. Paul, Minnesota, I’m sure she’s got a few more projects and goals to work on as she rides out the remainder of this fan-favorite era. According to her April Billboard interview, squeezing in an acting gig sometime in the next year is still on her radar.
While I can think of quite a few Taylor Sheridan shows that would surely welcome her with open arms, she has also stated that her dream role would surprisingly be in an old-school horror-esque film or a thriller. Sorry to burst all my fellow rom-com lovers’ bubbles.
In addition, Langley’s other goals include appearing on SNL as a “musical guest and then one day hosting it.” She’s also got her eye on playing— and more specifically, selling out— a stadium show.
Langley shared, “People in the beginning always used to ask me, ‘well how far you wanna take this thing?’ and I’d say I guess as far as it’ll let me go, and to me that’s a stadium.” Considering Langley has consistently been easily selling out back-to-back arena shows these past few months, I have no doubt a stadium show isn’t too far out of reach.
Lastly, Langley admitted that her other aspiration is to have a saxophone in her band, which unfortunately did not come to fruition this year; however, as we speak, I’m imagining a sax wailing on “Be Her,” and I completely see her vision. Langley has previously shared that Dandelion drew some influence from Ronnie Milsap, who long incorporated saxophone into both his live shows and recordings, so hopefully she leans even further into that sound moving forward.
While those were the five main goals Langley laid out in the interview, she made it clear the list doesn’t stop there. “I could keep going on my goals; I really think of plenty more every day. At this point I’m just gonna start reaching for the stars literally.”
With that kind of ambition and confidence, Lord only knows what other milestones the hit-maker will knock out next.
Following tomorrow night’s goal-fulfilling Red Rocks show, Langley will hit the stage for two more shows this week, performing in Tulsa on Friday (Oct 9) and Lubbock, TX, on Saturday evening (Oct 10).
Tour Dates:
- 10/7/26 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre (@, &)
- 10/9/26- Tulsa, OK – BOK Center (@, %)
- 10/10/26 – Lubbock, TX – United Supermarkets Arena (@, %)
- 10/13/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre (@, %)
- 10/14/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre (@, %)
- 10/29/26 – Des Moines, IA – Casey’s Center (@, &)
- 10/30/26 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena (@, &)
- 10/31/26 – Saint Paul, MN – Grand Casino Arena (@, &)