Cody Johnson held his caramel Gipson J-45 guitar to his side as he sang the first verse of “I’m Gonna Love You,” a number released in 2024 with Carrie Underwood for the deluxe edition of his album Leather. It would have been a strange choice for Johnson’s setlist, if he was going to sing it alone.
But the crowd caught on quickly, even before another singer emerged from the soundboard onto the stage. Some preemptive screams primed the room for what was coming. The spotlight revealed the second voice to be Carrie Underwood, who requires no introduction, draped in brown leather fringe and turquoise jewelry.
Underwood joined Johnson, singing her lines and harmonizing with his. The audience was so loud that they were competing with the massive stadium speakers hung from the scaffolding. It was becoming clear that this concert would be one for the country music history books.
Sometime between the final moments of Tim McGraw’s RodeoHouston concert and gate entry for Cody Johnson’s HLSR finale, more than 4,000 cubic yards of dirt, roughly 600 truckloads, were cleared from the lower level of NRG Stadium.
When attendees arrived on Sunday, March 22 for the closing show, they found the rodeo’s signature star stage encircled by thousands of neatly placed floor seats set atop a shiny concrete surface—a scene far removed from the stadium’s now familiar earthen floor.
This year’s RodeoHouston lineup has been packed with hometown heroes. Lizzo, Parker McCollum, and Forest Frank all hail from the Houston metroplex, while Kelly Clarkson and Koe Wetzel represent other corners of Texas. Cody Johnson may not be a Houston native, but his roots run just up the road in Sebastopol, a tiny town northeast of Huntsville with a population of around 120—and a place he still proudly calls home.
Opening act Randy Houser’s rodeo debut was short but sweet. Dressed in a black pearl snap shirt with white embroidery and a brown cowboy hat, the Mississippi maestro delivered a six-song set that left the crowd wanting more, showcasing his deep, bluesy vocals alongside some searing guitar solos.
It might seem surprising to call an artist of Jon Pardi’s stature an opener, but for this rodeo finale, he took the stage as the second supporting act. Still, fans were treated to what felt like a generous sampling of the country legend’s extensive catalog.
Pardi walked onto the stage, maroon Fender telecaster slung over his shoulder, to the percussive opening of “Paycheck” from his 2016 album California Sunrise. A now adequately socially lubricated crowd nearly drowned out the first few chords with cheers. He spoke affably about Randy Houser saying, “He’s a singing machine, I’ll tell you that. And we definitely have had some shots of tequila together, that’s all I can say!”
Predictably introducing the next song, the heartfelt country ballad “Tequila Little Time” from his 2019 record Heartache Medication. The California country singer powered through all the hits, closing his fourteen-song set with “Heartache Medication” from his 2019 album of the same name, followed by “Night Shift” and “Head Over Boots” from 2016’s California Sunrise.
By the time the lights dimmed for the main event, the crowd had grown dense. The news had already broken that the 2026 rodeo finale had shattered NRG Stadium’s all-time paid attendance record. By the time Cody Johnson made his way down the aisle, splitting the floor sections from the field’s main entrance, the vast majority of all 80,203 paid seats were filled.
“Welcome to the Show, Houston!” Johnson kicked off with the official RodeoHouston theme, released in 2019 in collaboration with HLSR—a track familiar to anyone who’s heard it blasting from the stadium speakers at every rodeo since. As the song goes, “where the Bayou city streets meet the country roads.”
Johnson utilized the stage in a way his opening acts hadn’t. Within a couple of songs he had moved to every star point and even slipped behind the LED light wall forming the backdrop, reaching fans on the other side as the stage slowly rotated. Bursting with energy, he had the audience completely hooked.
During “Me and My Kind,” a spirited, mid-tempo country tune from the singer’s 2014 offering Cowboy Like Me, fans were treated to the incredible guitar stylings of Johnson’s longtime (11 years to be exact) lead guitarist Jake Mears.
Also in the band were bassist Joey Pruski, fiddler Jody Bartula, steel guitarist Harrison Yount—“the most country instrument in the world,” said Cody—and drummer Miles Stone. Together, they form a powerhouse blend of traditional and modern country and blues technique that allows for some jaw-dropping solos every now and then.
Carrie Underwood disappeared into the bowels of NRG Stadium, presumably into some lavish green room with the other celebrities, as fast as she had appeared. She sang only one song, but it was enough to give the crowd a real buzz for what was to come.
Soon after Carrie’s surprise appearance, Johnson invited another star up to the stage. A whining steel guitar marked the beginning of “She Hurts Like Tequila,” a single release from March of last year. Grammy-winning Mexican star Carín León stepped onto the stage in a black felt hat with a silver arrow pin, to thunderous applause. Johnson and León shared the stage for the short song, singing back and forth in English and Spanish. The moment was both tender and powerful. Its impact was clear, as the camera panned over thousands of singing fans.
“You buying a ticket to The Rodeo tonight helped me accomplish a goal that I’ve been wanting to accomplish my entire life.” The singer looked across the capacity crowd as he spoke. “You are sitting smack dab in the middle of the largest sell-out in Houston Rodeo, in NRG Stadium history. Somebody please tell George Strait that, so he’ll come back and try to break my record. ‘Cause I’m getting a front row seat, baby!”
Johnson ended his official 2026 rodeo set with “Painter” (Leather, 2023) and “’Til You Can’t” (Human: The Double Album, 2021). After a ferocious drum solo, the lights went out. But the audience knew better than to beeline for the doors. Instead they waited for the inevitable encore, which came after Cody taunted the room by pulsing the stage lights on and off, getting cheers each time.
Cody and his band played the night out with a four-song encore: “Travelin’ Soldier” (Leather: Deluxe Edition, 2025), “Blame Texas” (standalone single, 2026), “Texas Kinda Way” (Six Strings One Dream, 2009), and “That’s Texas” (Leather, 2023) washed over the enormous stadium, still very full despite the length of the show. Drummer Miles Stone punctuated the finale with a show-stopping drum coda, sending the crowd into one last roar. With that, a historic concert came to a close, and the curtain fell on the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
SETLIST
Randy Houser:
Boots On
Whistlin’ Dixie
Back in the Bottle
How Country Feels
Like A Cowboy
Runnin’ Outta Moonlight
Jon Pardi:
Paycheck
Tequila Little Time
Mr. Saturday Night
Ain’t Always a Cowboy
Your Heart or Mine
Up All Night
Somebody’s Doin’ Me Right
Last Night Lonely
Boots Off
Dirt On My Boots
Heartache Medication
Night Shift
Heartache on the Dance Floor
Head Over Boots
Cody Johnson:
Welcome to the Show
Me and My Kind
Dance
With You I Am
Dear Rodeo
Nothing on You
Long Haired Country Boy
Human
The Fall
People in the Back
I’m Gonna Love You (With Carrie Underwood)
God Bless America
By Your Grace
Dirt Cheap
She Hurts Like Tequila (With Carin León)
Painter
‘Til You Can’t
Encore:
Travelin’ Soldier
Blame Texas
Texas Kinda Way
That’s Texas