Cody Johnson on Miranda Lambert’s Wildcard Tour: ‘There Is Such a Whole Family Atmosphere’

When Cody Johnson was invited to join Miranda Lambert on her Wildcard Tour, he knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Now, after completing the tour’s opening weekend, Johnson knows those words couldn’t be more true. The Texas native joins LANCO in serving as the openers for Lambert, and is already amazed at how comfortable Lambert has made everyone feel.

“Miranda just really made us all feel at home,” Johnson told CMT. “Her whole band and crew did. There is such a whole family atmosphere she has, and it’s so much like the way we run our tours. We’re not just a bunch of hired guns, we’re more of a brotherhood. And we encourage each other to be better, on stage and off stage. Miranda really opened up her door to us and welcomed us in.”

Johnson might have been tired, but not too tired to watch his tour boss take the stage after he finished his set.

“I got to watch Miranda’s full show,” Johnson said. “And she is so talented and such a great entertainer. My wheelhouse is on stage, so I wanted to see how she utilized that stage that I just played on. I was so impressed. I’ve always been a fan of her writing. I feel like I understand her as a writer. We’ve talked about trying to write together some — it makes sense that we’d write songs because we both use the same verbiage.”

Johnson might have watched Lambert, but Lambert also watched Johnson while he warmed up the crowd for her.

“She has this great idea where there is a curtain to the side of the stage, so that she can watch the other acts without any of the fans seeing her and taking the attention away from the artist on stage,” Johnson explained.

Lambert’s previous tour included all female artists, but the gender of her tour openers wasn’t a factor when she considered who to join her on her Wildcard Tour.

“I love doing the all-female stuff, but I don’t discriminate,” Lambert told PopCulture.com. “I love male artists too and especially ones from Texas. So Cody Johnson’s just doing amazing. I think he’s very true to country music and his roots and our roots and so I’m excited to get to know him and hear his music every night. And then LANCO, I just think they’ve got this cool vibe, this new energy, and their show’s great. And so, especially having that younger creativity around you on tour, I think it’s important.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Mindy Small