Throughout the 16 new songs on Banks Of The Trinity, Cody Johnson is carrying the torch of traditional country music into the future, even as he’s looking back on the foundational moments of his life. Produced by longtime collaborator Trent Willmon, Banks of the Trinity follows 2023’s Leather, which won the CMA Award for Album of the Year. Instead of resting on those laurels, however, Johnson put out the call to Music Row to start sending him songs the very next day. While preparing a new album for a late 2025 release, Johnson’s eardrum burst from a sinus and upper respiratory infection. Two weeks later, he and his wife welcomed their third child, a son. With three months off the road to heal and acclimate, Johnson spent time listening to material and discovered about half of the songs on Banks Of The Trinity. Although his background in rodeo and ranching is well known, Johnson realized he could now share a different side of himself. “On this album, I wanted to tell the story about my childhood,” Johnson says. “When I heard the song ‘Banks of the Trinity’ for the first time, it was like this portrait showed in my head of memories that honestly I'd forgotten. It just took me back home to Sebastopol, Texas, where I grew up on the Trinity River. I had tears in my eyes when I heard it for the first time.”
