Why Has Cody Johnson Cancelled the Rest of His Concerts for the Year?

Country music star Cody Johnson has cancelled the remainder of his Leather Deluxe Tour after suffering a serious ear injury. The 38-year-old singer announced the news on social media on Tuesday, saying he had burst his eardrum while battling a severe upper respiratory and sinus infection. “It is with a very heavy heart I have to share the remainder of this year’s concert performances will not be able to happen,” Johnson said. “The severity of the rupture means I must undergo immediate surgery.” Johnson added that the recovery process “will take many weeks,” making it impossible for him to sing. “Without the surgery, my downtime could be months,” he said. “I pray for full healing so I can get well and return to doing what I love. Thank you COJO Nation for the love and support, now, and always.” Fans with tickets will be contacted via email with updates, according to the statement. The cancellation brings an early end to Johnson’s global tour, which began in January and included performances across the United States, Europe and Oceania. He had been due to perform at least six more shows, including one at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on 18 October. The Leather Deluxe Tour followed Johnson’s 2024 Leather Tour, which featured 30 sold-out shows and a stadium performance at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Johnson, a former bull rider from Texas, began releasing music independently in 2006 and signed with a major label in 2019 for his breakthrough album Ain’t Nothin’ to It. The record topped Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and featured “Dear Rodeo,” a duet with Reba McEntire. He later released the double album Human in 2021, which produced the hit single “‘Til You Can’t,” and followed it with Leather in 2023, featuring a collaboration with country star Jelly Roll. Reflecting on his past as a rodeo rider, Johnson told Holler magazine in 2023: “I left the rodeo because I just wasn’t good enough. I had the passion, but that just wasn’t where God wanted me to be.”