Cody Johnson to Perform National Anthem at World Series Game 7

Texas country artist Cody Johnson will get the distinct honor and worthy exposure of singing the National Anthem at the World Series Game 7 Wednesday night (10-30) pitting the Houston Astros against the Washington Nationals in Houston. The game and National Anthem will be broadcast live on FOX.

Johnson, who is originally from nearby Huntsville, TX and got his start in country building a strong fan base in the Houston area, is a fan favorite in the city. In March he performed at the Houston Rodeo, drawing a whopping 73,009 attendees, and beating out bigger mainstream names such as Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band, and Tim McGraw in attendance numbers. Playing at the Houston Rodeo in 2017 in a replacement spot and drawing a surprising crowd is one of the things given credit for Cody’s ascent into the big time.

Cody Johnson started playing and singing country music when he was 12-years-old, and first formed the Cody Johnson Band with his father Carl. He worked as a corrections officer at a local prison while moonlighting as a performer until 2011 when he quit to pursue music full time. His 2014 album Cowboys Like Me saw surprising chart success for an independent artist, coming in at #7 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, and leading to more national awareness.

Cody Johnson signed a deal to form Cojo Music/Warner Music Nashville in June of 2018. The deal meant Johnson was now part of one of the biggest label groups in country music, but still retained creative control under his long-standing, completely independent, and personally-owned record label Cojo Music. His new record Ain’t Nothin To It hit #1 on the Country Albums Chart upon debut, and his last radio single “On My Way To You” hit #13 on the charts, and has been Certified Gold.

Cody Johnson is also a strong proponent for true country music. “I think personally that it is unfair for women like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and men like George Jones, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Strait … it’s a little unfair for those men and women to give their lives, and to give their heart and soul to our industry, the country music industry, and for us to sit back and take a look at it in 2019, and it really doesn’t look or sound anything like what they stood for,” Cody Johnson said when headlining the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in June.

This won’t be the first time Cody Johnson has made an appearance in the World Series, so to speak. In 2018, The Boston Red Socks were blasting Cody Johnson and singing along while celebrating their series win in the locker room.

Cody Johnson is not the only country artist to sing the National Anthem this year. Clay Walker sang it at Game 6.

© 2023 Saving Country Music