WATCH: Cody Johnson And Lainey Wilson Surprise Las Vegas Crowd With Classic Country Duet

Cody Johnson welcomed a very special guest to the stage during his final show of the year over the weekend when Lainey Wilson joined him to perform the classic country hit, “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” 

The surprise collaboration took place during the second of Johnson’s back-to-back sold-out concerts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 

@ttbrown9

Cody Johnson with Lainey Wilson in Las Vegas

♬ original sound – TT Brown

Johnson shocked the capacity crowd when welcoming Wilson to the stage. Together, their Texas and Louisiana bred vocals blended seamlessly to cover the timeless country track, which was originally recorded by Ed Bruce and later made into a duet featuring country outlaws Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.  

Amid their performance, Johnson proudly shouted, “That’s Lainey Wilson” as he watched on with a smile.

Both Johnson and Wilson visited Sin City to perform and also take part in various activities surrounding the National Finals Rodeo. Earlier in the week, Johnson competed in the World Series of Team Roping during the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at Thomas & Mack Center, while Wilson closed out the exciting week with a one-night-only concert at  MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday. 

@doodledum14 CoJo’s last concert of the year! He went out with a bang 😍 #cojo #lasvegas #fyp #laineywilson ♬ original sound – kariyannah._16

The pair of chart-topping artists have formed a friendship through the years, and recently Johnson discussed the potential to record a song with Wilson on his next album. 

During a conversation with Country Now and other outlets, he shared, “Lainey and I have talked about doing something on the next record because I feel like it’s finally time. We have that personal relationship now to where it’s like, ‘okay, cool, let’s go in the studio.’” 

In a separate interview with Country Countdown USA, Johnson expressed interest in recording a classic country song with Wilson. 

“I heard Loretta Lynn’s ‘Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.’ I called Lainey and said we should record that song together, and she agreed.  But we haven’t done it yet,” he shared. 

Johnson’s pair of Las Vegas concerts wrapped up his Leather Tour, in which he played a whopping 30 sold-out shows throughout the year. This run also included a memorable performance at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and his first-ever headline stadium date at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. 

Both artists will enjoy some downtime over the holidays before kicking things back into gear in 2025. 

Johnson will ring in the new year with performances on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest airing live on ABC from 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Tuesday December 31 and on Hulu the next day. 

Meanwhile, Wilson will perform during NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH, airing on Tuesday, Dec. 31 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT, 10:30 PM-1:30 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+*. 

Johnson will then kick off his Leather Deluxe Tour on January 17 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Wilson’s first performance of 2025 will take place at Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa in Mexico.