Ella Langley & Cody Johnson's Surprise Reba Cover

Every now and then a festival set serves up a moment nobody saw coming, and that's exactly what happened when Ella stepped out during Cody Johnson's set at the inaugural Braves Country Fest. The two of them traded verses on Reba McEntire's "Whoever's in New England," and by all accounts Truist Park went quiet in the best possible way.

We love this for a few reasons. First, it's a song with real weight behind it. "Whoever's in New England" was a No. 1 hit for Reba back in 1986 and won her a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, so it's not a throwaway crowd-pleaser — it's one of the genre's most respected ballads. Pulling it off live, in a stadium, with no studio polish to hide behind, is the kind of thing that separates great singers from good ones. Whiskey Riff called it "bone-chilling," and the clips making the rounds back that up.

Second, Ella and Cody have never actually recorded together, so when they needed common ground they reached for a classic instead of one of their own songs. That choice says a lot. Johnson has history with this one — he cut an acoustic version back in 2020, and Reba herself joined him to sing it during his CMA Fest set in 2023. So this wasn't a random pick. It was Cody handing a song he clearly loves to a duet partner he trusted to carry it, and Ella absolutely held up her end.

For us, it's another reminder of how much range Ella has right now. In the same stretch where she's stacking up Country Airplay hits like "Be Her," she can walk onto a stage cold and reinterpret a thirty-nine-year-old Reba ballad without losing an ounce of its ache. That's a real country singer, not just a chart story.

No word yet on whether a studio version is coming — for now it lives in the fan-shot videos, and honestly those might be the better keepsake. If you want to catch Ella live before the Dandelion Tour wraps, check our tour guide for remaining dates. And if this performance has you digging into her catalog, our breakdown of what "Be Her" really means is a good next stop.