There are more than 1,200 miles between Pittsburgh and Sebastpol, Texas, but Cody Johnson made that distance between his hometown and PPG Paints Arena feel a whole lot smaller in his Friday night show.

The contemporary country singer sold out his Pittsburgh show, which had been rescheduled from October, with Johnson offering a taste of Texas country over almost two hours.

Johnson’s drawn plenty of comparisons to George Strait, a fellow Texan nicknamed “The King of Country.” And Johnson’s been called “too rodeo for radio,” quite fitting since he’s a former amateur bull rider.

From the opener of “That’s Texas,” which had Johnson two-stepping across the stage, he declared it would be a “honky tonk.”

“We decided to bring a little of Texas to Pittsburgh, if that’s all right with y’all,” Johnson said.

His set visited country hallmarks like his love of his home state (the aforementioned “That’s Texas), the rodeo (“Dear Rodeo”) and moonshine (“Georgia Peaches”) — with a self-deprecating story about the origins of “Georgia Peaches,” written under the influence of the homemade booze: “It was the worst thing that happened to country music,” he joked.

There were plenty of romantic songs, both tender (“The Painter”) and playful (“Nothin’ on You”) — with the latter drawing out thousands of phone lights as lighters. His collab with Carrie Underwood, “I’m Gonna Love You,” featured a recorded performance on the video screen from the “American Idol” judge.

And don’t forget breakup songs, like “How Do You Sleep at Night?”

Other highlights included a spare “Human,” with Johnson at the front of the stage on a stool, an impassioned performance of “The Fall” and the ballad of “Dirt Cheap.” The house lights highlighted the upper deck for “People in the Back,” with lyrics like “You’re just happy to be here drinkin’ cold beer, in your cheap seats, on a Friday night.” (Although the cheap seats may have been better described as “a little bit less expensive” seats, with resale tickets above $100 on Friday.)

After giving thanks to law enforcement, firefighters, first responders, nurses and the military, Johnson shared a message of unity.

“There’s three things that bind us all together, not just you in this building, every other American in this country, no matter what the income bracket, no matter what color, no matter what belief,” he said. “There’s three things that bind us all together, and we’ve forgotten it over the years. They are very simple. They are red, white and blue. So tonight, I’d like to do something out of unity. There’s so much division, I want to do something out of unity.”

That led to a performance of “God Bless America,” with the crowd chanting “USA, USA” afterwards. (Incidentally, Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” served as the warm-up music before Johnson’s show started.)

“Don’t let anyone tell you pride in America is dead,” Johnson added.

Johnson wrapped up his set with “’Til You Can’t,” which won a pair of awards at the 2022 Country Music Association Awards.

After a brief encore break, he returned for “Travelin’ Soldier,” a tearjerker originally made famous by the Dixie Chicks. He closed with “Diamond in My Pocket,” giving a nod to the sold-out show with a lyric change.

Why was it rescheduled?: Last fall, Johnson had to cancel the final six shows of his Leather Deluxe tour because of a ruptured eardrum, stemming from upper respiratory and sinus infections, which required immediate surgery. That included an Oct. 18 show at PPG Paints Arena, including support from Clint Black, whose schedule conflicted with the makeup date.

During his time off, Johnson and his wife, Brandi, welcomed their third child, a boy, on Oct. 21.

”If you have faith that somebody else is in charge, everything happens for a reason, all the good and the bad,” Johnson said Friday night. “I was worried about not playing shows, worried about healing and recovering, but if I hadn’t have busted my ear drum, I probably wouldn’t have been home when my little boy was born so I was thankful to be there. But that don’t mean that I did not miss y’all because I’m going to tell you right now, three months without playing music, I missed you. I love my job.”

What’s missing: Johnson’s latest release, “Blame Texas,” as well as “On My Way to You” and “She’s Acting Single,” would probably be the biggest songs missing from his setlist.

Getting in: Security moved much more smoothly than the Journey show on Monday, with one security guard joking it would have been even faster if there weren’t so many big belt buckles setting off the metal detectors.

The merch: A variety of T-shirts ranged from $45 to $60 (plus a youth-sized one at $35), with an $80 hoodie, a $40 ball cap and a $5 koozie, plus vinyl ($30-$45).

Last show here: Johnson headlined PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 27, 2023, with Chris Janson and Drew Parker also on the bill.

What’s next: Johnson is right back at it, with a March 7 show at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

Kip Moore

Country rocker Kip Moore played before Johnson, and his set leaned more toward the rock side than country. (The choice of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” as the prelude to his set may have given a hint.)

Moore tweaked the lyrics of at least three songs to add Pittsburgh references: In “Solitary Tracks,” the original line of “Indiana girl with an Idaho heart” became “Indiana girl with a Pittsburgh heart,” for example.

He played crowd pleasers like “Beer Money” — taking a sip from a red Solo cup during the song — and “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck.”

Moore opened his set with the live debut of “Levee,” a gritty song just released on Friday.

Walker Montgomery

The 24-year-old son of John Michael Montgomery, Walker Montgomery opened the show and kept the family tradition going strong.

He covered two of his father’s songs — “I Love the Way You Love Me” and “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” — in addition to several originals like “Watching Storms Roll In.”

“What the hell is a yinz,” he joked, before mentioning drummer Luke Zajdel. A Greensburg native, Zajdel sported a Pirates ballcap and called it a “bucket list show” on Instagram.

Cody Johnson setlist

That’s Texas

Me and My Kind

Dance Her Home

How Do You Sleep at Night?

With You I Am

Dear Rodeo

Nothin’ on You

Long Haired Country Boy (Charlie Daniels Band cover)

Human

Georgia Peaches

The Fall

People in the Back

I’m Gonna Love You

God Bless America (Irving Berlin cover)

Band introductions

Dirt Cheap

The Painter

‘Til You Can’t

Encore

Travelin’ Soldier (Bruce Robison cover)

Diamond in My Pocket