A lofty goal, indeed… but I think he can do it. Recently, Cody Johnson appeared on RFD-TV for an episode of On The Record, Johnson, where he talked about his songwriting process, working with Carrie Underwood, and also some of his future career goals. Cody explained that he wants to break George Strait’s record for the most performances at Rodeo Houston, as The King is currently sitting at 31 shows over his legendary career, which helped him earn the title as the “King of Rodeo Houston.” Cody has headlined Rodeo Houston five times thus far, in 2017-2019, 2022 and 2023, though Strait still holds the attendance record as well, when he had over 80,000 country music fans show up in 2019. But Cody explained that he not only enjoys headlining the event because it’s a goal in his career, but he loves giving back, as he explained that one of his contracts for playing the show took over two years, and one of the stipulations was that $1 million of that show went to the scholarship program at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. And he added that he still wants to beat George’s record for the most shows played, and I imagine the attendance record as well, because he wants to give him “an excuse to come back” and break his: “Within my contract that took two years to negotiate, one of my stipulations was that $1 million of that show goes to the scholarship program at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I want to beat the record. George Strait, I love you, and I’ve looked up to you my entire life, but I want to beat the record. Not for any other reason, just because I want to break the record. And hopefully if I do break the record, maybe it will give an excuse for old George to come back and break mine.” Johnson joked that it wasn’t a challenge… “It’s not a challenge.” But I beg to differ… and I think he can certainly get there one day. And I think it would be even better if they played one of the shows together: View this post on Instagram Speaking of Cody Johnson and George Strait, Johnson is set to open for him in Death Valley, home of the Clemson Tigers in Clemson, South Carolina at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, May 2nd, 2026. It’s a one night only, in-the-round concert that also features to Wyatt Flores as an opening act. This show will be the first concert held at Memorial Stadium since 1999, which was also headlined by George Strait, so it will be a full-circle moment for both Strait and the fans. Strait simply says he can’t wait to see everyone back in Clemson after more than 25 years: “Going back to Death Valley for the first time in more than 25 years feels pretty special. Can’t wait to see you, Clemson!” He also recently announced two shows in Lubbock, Texas, for 2026, and he only has three on the books for now, so we’ll see if he adds anything else for the summer, which is likely, but it will probably be a very select number of other dates seeing as he typically does very short summer tours these days. View this post on Instagram The post Cody Johnson Sets His Sights On One Of George Strait’s Most Iconic Records first appeared on Whiskey Riff.