Cody Johnson Opens Up About His Friendship With Luke Combs As Their ‘Shoot The Bull’ Duet Gains Momentum

Cody Johnson and Luke Combs have the kind of friendship that allows them to tune out the chaos of the music industry when they’re together. In those moments, no matter what is happening around them, they’re just two friends talking about sports, family and life. That’s why it felt like such a natural fit for them to join forces on “Shoot The Bull,” a track featured on Johnson’s latest album, Banks of the Trinity.

While discussing the project on The Kelleigh Bannen Show on Apple Music Country, Johnson shared that even in professional settings, he knows that he can escape the “whirlwind” of things happening around him by seeking out Combs to feel a moment of normalcy.

“…it’s like you see the guy in the room where you’re like, ‘I can totally just go sit in the corner and BS with this guy’ and the industry’s going on around us in this whirlwind, yet he and I are talking about who won the college football game or I’m trying to get him to come down to Texas and do some hunting with me and just what watches are we looking at to invest in and things like that,” he explained.

The pair of artists have been there for each other through many of professional and personal highs and lows over the years. Back in May when Johnson accepted his first-ever win for ACM Entertainer of the Year, he even went as far as dedicating his esteemed award to Combs, citing him as someone who he has personally watched “devote his life to country music.” He also called attention to the moment he witnessed Combs miss the birth of his second son Beau while on tour overseas.

“I was there the night in Australia when his wife gave birth to one of their sons,” Johnson recalled in his speech. “And I watched the anguish, and I watched the defeat on his face for not being there because he was across the world playing music in a sold out arena. And the next night, right after it, I watched him get on stage and absolutely murder the stage and go on stage and play country music and preach the message of country music to a bunch of Australians across the world.”

Johnson later told Bannen that Combs was one of the first people he called when he recently found himself facing a financial decision in his career. After gaining some much-needed guidance, they fell right back into their usual conversations.

“This year there was some career professional finance stuff that I just called him and was like, ‘Hey, I have no pride in this deal. I know that you’re further along than I am right now as far as career wise. Give me your advice on this. What would you do here?’”

The Texas native continued, “He gave me sound advice and then it was like, ‘It’s over, it’s done. What are you doing?’ ‘Oh, I’m playing with the kids. FaceTime. ‘Hey, what’s going on, boys? Hey, check out the girls.’ And my girls were like, ‘Are you talking to Luke Combs? Is that Luke Combs?’ ‘Yes, he’s an idiot…just like me. He’s just a big old goofball.’”

That kind of tight-knit bond effortlessly comes across on their new duet, “Shoot The Bull.” The catchy, upbeat track was penned by Ray Fulcher, Casey Brown, Josh Phillips, and Drew Parker and reads like a conversation between two people looking to blow off some steam.

They trade off singing the verses about friendship and taking a much-needed break from the demands of everyday life. Together the country acts celebrate the simple pleasures of grabbing a cold beer, swapping stories, playing country music on the jukebox and catching up like old friends. Along the way, they nod to their respective roots in Texas and the mountains of North Carolina, while offering a reminder that sometimes the best nights are spent forgetting your worries as you “crank up a little possum and shoot the bull.”

“Let’s load up some silver bullets, saddle up some old barstools/ Set our sights on 2 a.m. and let the rowdy cut loose/ Forget all of our problems, take that corner quarter jukebox to school/ Crank up a little possum and shoot the bull,” they sing on the chorus.

“Shoot The Bull” appears on Cody Johnson’s just released Banks of the Trinity album.

This isn’t the first time Johnson and Combs have found themselves working together. They also toured together back in 2023 when “The Fall” singer served as the opening act for Combs’ dates across Australia and New Zealand.

Based on how well their voices blend together and their shared talent for true storytelling, fans can only hope this won’t be the last collaboration between the two.