Can’t we all just be friends?
Apparently not in country music like you might think…
This week, Cody Jinks sat down on the Jarrod Morris Vibe podcast for a long conversation about his career and the music industry as a whole, speaking about going on tour with Luke Combs as well as some much deeper topics like his journey to sobriety and being “drunk for 24 years.” He was very open about his journey, and it was inspiring to say the least.
In addition to speaking about his personal life, Jinks touched on his journey as an independent artist and how he has carved out his own lane as a very successful artist. He explained that he has always focused on the “art” aspect of it, while many of his peers are focused on the “sale” more than the song, which we all know is no big secret.
I loved his answer about being a true songwriter, and how he enjoys the freedoms of not having a label so he can say whatever he wants in interviews like this:
“That’s art, though, that’s art. and that’s what it really comes down to, a lot of what you hear, and I’m not saying country specific, on radio nowadays, it’s not art, it’s sales, you know? It’s a quick buck for the record companies to put something plastic out and have a quick sale.
It’s a pet rock, you know, quick money here, quick money there. You know, art in its truest sense, the way we record records… like when I record a record, there’s nobody in the studio that has a title of any kind of manager. There’s nobody in the studio that has the title of any sort of record label affiliation.
It’s me, and the band, and who’s producing an engineering. There’s no outside… it’s art at its purest. We make the purest music art form we can. That’s what we’re happy doing, I’m not saying that’s everybody’s bag. I’m not saying that’s what everybody should do. To me as an artist, not even a recording artist, they give that title to people that can’t write worth a sh*t. I’m a songwriter. That’s the good thing about not having a label, I say whatever I want, I don’t get in trouble.”
Cody also explained that he doesn’t look down on mainstream artists, and named people like Hailey Whitters and Charles Wesley Godwin as some of his good friends:
“I’m not mean to anybody, look, man, I have so many friends that are in mainstream country. People are like, ‘You’re friends with that person?’ absolutely, they’re a good person, it doesn’t matter if I like their songs or not.”
Morris pointed out the bizarre “tribalism” that seems extremely prevalent in country, and how even though it seems like everyone is so supportive of each other, that’s often not the case in this genre. Country music is always billed as “one happy family,” you hear it all the time. Watch any awards show red carpet and you’ll hear it… “We’re one big family” from every other person who is walking it.
Cody agreed that it’s pretty much the complete opposite of that in a genre like rock:
“It’s the worst in country because you have a lot of bands that are put together. You wanna go to a country festival and see a bunch of bands sizing each other up? Go to a country concert. You wanna go to a rock ‘n’ roll festival and watch a bunch of bands cheering for each other? Go to rock ‘n’ roll festival.”
And to be fair, Cody is referring to the mainstream country music scene… that Texas scene has WAY more of a family feel, as does other independent scenes.
Cody has such a unique sound that allows him to really fit in rock and country, and it’s admirable the way he’s done it completely independently all these years, and been so incredibly successful doing so.
I always love getting the real inside scoop from someone I know is going to give it to you completely straight like Cody does, and it’s such a very candid conversation and a neat peak into who Cody is, and I highly recommend checking it out here:
He will continue to tour pretty much all year, making great country music with even more on the way soon. Cody previously confirmed that he’s working on an album, and he just released a song this past Friday called “Put The Whiskey Down”:
Cody Jinks 2025 Tour Dates
March 14, 2025–New Orleans, LA–Mahalia Jackson Theatre of Performing Arts
March 20, 2025–Houston, TX–Houston Rodeo
April 6, 2025–Ft. Lauderdale, FL–Tortuga Music Festival
May 2-4, 2025–Arlington, TX–Lone Star Smokeout
May 29, 2025–Columbia, MO–9th Street*
May 30, 2025–Franklin, TN–FirstBank Amphitheater*
May 31-June 1, 2025–Lexington, KY–Railbird Festival
June 5, 2025–St. Catherine, ON–Meridian Centre^
June 6, 2025–Toronto, ON–Coca-Cola Coliseum^
June 7, 2025–Laval, QC–Place Bell^
June 26, 2025–Nampa, ID–Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater*
June 27, 2025–Idaho Falls, ID–Mountain America Center*
June 28, 2025–Casper, WY–Ford Wyoming Center*
July 4, 2025–Abbotsford, BC–Abbotsford Centre^
July 5, 2025–Kelowna, BC–Prosepera Place^
July 10, 2025–Wheatland, CA–Hard Rock Live*
July 11, 2025–Stateline, NV–Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys*
July 12, 2025–Berkeley, CA–Greek Theatre UC Berkeley*
July 17, 2025–Kent, WA–accesso ShoWare Center*
July 19, 2025–Airway Heights, WA–Northern Quest Amphitheater*
July 26, 2025–Morrison, CO–Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 7, 2025–Asbury Park, NJ–Stone Pony Summer Stage#
August 8, 2025–Philadelphia, PA– The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark#
August 9, 2025–Baltimore, MD–Pier Six Pavilion*
August 11, 2025–Virginia Beach, VA–The Dome#
August 13, 2025–New York, NY–The Rooftop at Pier 17#
August 15, 2025–Bridgeport, CT–Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater*
August 16, 2025–Boston, MA–Leader Bank Pavilion*
August 17, 2025–Syracuse, NY–Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview*
September 18, 2025–Des Moines, IA–Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park*
September 19, 2025–Indianapolis, IN–Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park*
September 20, 2025–Youngstown, OH–Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre*
*with Tanner Usrey
^with Ward Davis
#with Shane Smith & The Saints