‘The Rock’ Wants You Listening to Sturgill, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers

We live in an era where a performance on The Tonight Show is not nearly as valuable as the ringing endorsement of an important celebrity on social media, for a musician or anyone else. And with the way radio refuses to support many artists, including some with major label deals, these influencer endorsements can go a long way in securing the fans that artists need not only to sustain their careers, but that they deserve due to their talent. Meanwhile the public gets clued into the great music they’re missing.

Early endorsements by Joe Rogan helped put Sturgill Simpson on the map. Multiple wrestler personalities and actors getting behind the cause of Colter Wall is one of the reasons he’s been enjoying such success. And Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson helped put a huge boost behind Cody Jinks when he shouted out the Ft. Worth-based singer out in 2017.

When The Rock first endorsed Cody Jinks, the actor had some 82.5 million Instagram followers. Now he has nearly doubled that to 149 million, and gave yet another ringing endorsement to the stalwarts of non commercial country this Sunday (7-7).

“Good shit Sunday. As a lifelong fan of country (traditional/outlaw) music, I highly recommend one of my favorite artists, Sturgill Simpson,” Dwayne Johnson said in an Instagram post, with the cover of Sturgill’s mangum opus Metamodern Sounds in Country Music as the image. “Sturgill, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, Stapleton, Jamey Johnson are a few of my favs who would’ve made Jennings, Merle, Paycheck, Cash, Gosdin and the Possum himself very proud to keep the tradition going. If you know, you know. Now jump in that truck and turn em up. #goodshitsunday #lowerbroad”

A lifelong country fan, Dwayne Johnson was once cast to play country legend Charley Pride in a biopic film. In 2011, actor Terrence Howard backed out of the position and Johnson reportedly stepped in. However the Charley Pride film has been indefinitely delayed due to what is rumored to be rights issues with some of the film’s material.

The Rock has named dropped Cody Jinks, Sturgill Simpson, and Jamey Johnson before. But now he’s adding Tyler Childers to the list, just as the Kentucky native has signed a deal with RCA/Sony, and is getting ready to release his latest album Country Squire on August 2nd.

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