Chris Johnson. 

Sometimes dreams only come true when you build them yourself… 

When Chris Johnson first laid the foundation that would ultimately become a decades-long career, it was fueled by pure gumption and drive, coupled with an unending love of music. Now, as he steps closer into the spotlight and armed with a new single “Better Days Ahead” off his upcoming project “Tales From The Cowboy Palace,” he’s ready to redefine Country music’s parameters through the mic of an urban cowboy. 

Born and raised in California’s San Diego County (in a little rural community called Lakeside), Chris divided his time amongst surfing, skateboarding, and horseback riding. “We had steers and cows,” he adds. “I was involved in the Secret Farmers of America and Junior Rodeo.” He was raised as a quintessential “urban cowboy,” which he clearly defines as “suburban logistically, yet rural in your heart.” Music was a part of his everyday conversation since birth. His mother was a musician, as well as her three sisters, and both of his grandfathers. Chris’s musical talent was innate, practically inherited.  

By five years old, Chris’s mother taught him how to play both the guitar and piano, playing together at churches, senior centers, county fairs, and many other local events. Raised on the Country music that filled the radio airwaves, his mother loved Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, along with folk greats like Joni Mitchell, John Denver, and Pete Seeger. By Junior High, Chris was in the school band, carrying into High School where he formed his own Rock band. Even then, music served as a place of peace for Chris, a refuge of sorts, yet not quite a confirmed career path. “I was just drawn to music and the calming effect it had on me,” he explains.  

By college, he was fronting a small short-lived band called the Border Tones, before going out on his own to perform spot gigs and small residencies in nightclubs. He eventually packed up his van and was bound for Los Angeles, attending the Musicians Institute and linking with a booking agency that found him traveling across the country for high end corporate gigs and hotel performances. After a few years, Chris became burned out on the cover band life. “I really wanted to get back to doing my own music,” he explains. “I didn't even have a house, we were just in band houses and hotel rooms all the time.” Returning to L.A., he began running sound for iconic clubs like Whisky A Go Go and the Roxy, as well as managing the backline for FM Station. In addition, he was taking gigs singing on artist demos, composing jingles, and doing voiceover work. From hauling stage equipment through his own rental company (Hollywood Rentals) to ultimately purchasing the very Country club he used to jam in called the Cowboy Palace, Chris Johnson has cultivated a career in music that most could only dream of. Still, despite decades spent creating opportunities for other artists and sustaining a family life he deeply values, he never stopped writing songs. Now, with his new project Tales From the Cowboy Palace, Chris Johnson is stepping back into the spotlight on his own terms.  

Tales From The Cowboy Palace feels less like a comeback project and more like a lifetime distilled into music. There are songs about perseverance, freedom, fatherhood, motorcycles, hard work, and redemption, all from the pen of a man who has lived and seen it all. Backed by his band the Hollywood Hillbillies, the project is categorically Country, only elevated through his experiences spanning many genres. His forthcoming single “Better Days Ahead” speaks directly to those who keep moving forward in the face of adversity. It’s an anthem for anyone who has ever worked relentlessly in pursuit of a dream, or simply better days ahead. “It’s about working my ass off when I had nothing,” he explains, “dreaming of giving a better life to my wife and kids.” The follow-up “Live to Ride” taps into another defining part of his journey, having spent decades immersed in motorcycle culture, which later paved the open road to his 25 years of sobriety. Chris’s unbridled honesty fuels much of his songwriting today, lending his music an emotional weight that feels lived-in rather than simply manufactured.  

He may be an urban cowboy, but with Tales From The Cowboy Palace, Johnson is inviting everyone on his journey to connect and feel his emotions and relatable authenticity. “I think the songs are greater than me,” he says. “I love the songs, and I want people to have the opportunity to love them as well.”