Jinks makes RodeoHouston debut, but mom steals show
There have been some sweet moments onstage at RodeoHouston. Demi Lovato fighting back tears in 2013 during a cover of “The House That Built Me.” Kane Brown slow-dancing with his wife in 2019.
But the sweetest moment in recent rodeo memory came from a country outlaw with a metal band.
Deep into his Monday night set, Fort Worth’s Cody Jinks brought a guest onstage to help him sing “Mamma Song.”
“That’s my mom,” he told the crowd of 61,215. “This is too cool. I had to get her up to sing on that one.”
Jinks is a proudly independent artist whose sound is steeped in blistering musicianship and thoughtful lyrics. He walked across the dirt floor alongside his band to the stage, wearing sunglasses and a Foo Fighters T-shirt.
Jinks kicked off with “All It Cost Me Was Everything” and kept things country for his RodeoHouston debut. In fact, he’s truer to the genre than most of the cowboy-hat-and-boots acts who scream it for the rotating stage. And his emotive, textured voice is even better live than on record.
There’s a gothic, cinematic quality to Jinks’ songs. And a bit of Waylon Jennings, too. It’s apparent in the complex character studies “Fast Hand” and “Ain’t a Train” and the heartbreak confessional “I’m Not the Devil.”
Nothing is a throwaway or filler. Jinks is saying something with every lyric. He debuted a new song, “Changed the Game,” that recounted his unconventional road to success.
“Cast No Stones” was a sharp rebuke of those who judge others. “Hurt You” was an epic showcase for the band. “Must be the Whiskey,” one of Jinks’ most popular tunes, incited the night’s loudest singalong.
“This is very surreal right now,” he told the crowd. “So please, let us take this in.”