Last year, Ian Munsick listed headlining Cheyenne Frontier Days at the top of his big bucket list of dreams after playing Red Rocks in Colorado.
This year, his Frontier Days dreams are coming true.
Munsick has been tapped to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days during the world’s largest rodeo on its very first, opening night, event promoters announced on Thursday.
He will be the first Wyoming native to achieve that, and the chart-topping, singer-songwriter from Sheridan, Wyoming, couldn’t be more excited about it.
“That will be the biggest achievement in my book of things that I’ve done,” Munsick said. “I’m just very, very, very, very excited to play it. It’s gonna be a blast.”
The “Long Live Cowgirls” and “Horses are Faster” songwriter told Cowboy State Daily he’s already thinking about how to make his concert appearance at CFD one-of-a-kind.
“I’ve been going through my head on who can I bring out for guests, if there’s any kind of musical things that we’ve never tried — and probably won’t ever try again — for that night,” Munsick said. “My brain is definitely rolling.”
One thing Munsick won’t have to do though, is write a special song for the occasion.
“I have a song called ‘Cheyenne’ that I released a few months ago, and that’s kind of already that,’ Munsick said. “Not in particular for Frontier Days, but just the town, and it kind of goes hand in hand with rodeo, so I feel like I already did write that.”
That’s definitely going to be a special moment, Munsick added.
“So, I hope that everyone will sing along loudly when we play that one,” he said.
The Rest Of The CFD Lineup
Munsick is particularly jazzed about his opportunity to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days, given the other names he sees on the just-announced concert list:
• July 18: Ian Munsick with Travis Tritt
• July 19: TBA
• July 20: Bailey Zimmerman with Josh Ross
• July 21-22: PRCA Xtreme Bulls
• July 23: Brooks & Dunn with Chancey Williams
• July 24: Luke Bryan with Priscilla Block
• July 25: Cody Johnson with Randy Houser
• July 26: Megan Moroney with TBA
• July 19-27: PRCA Rodeo
Tickets for Frontier Nights will go on sale at 9 a.m. MDT March 13 at www.cfdrodeo.com, which also has a complete schedule of events. In-person sales will open at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Ticket Office at 9 a.m. March 14.
Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $134, while rooftop starts at $200 and Tunes on the Terrace tickets all range from $225 to $275.
Xtreme Bulls tickets range from $25 to $95, and a $5 discount is being offered for concert tickets purchased before July 1.
Fans can upgrade to a Frontier Nights Fast Pass for early admission to the Party Zone.
Cheyenne Frontier Days will run from July 18 to July 27, featuring nine days of PRCA professional rodeo, as well as hundreds of vendors, a full carnival, artists, food, music and more.
With folks like Cody Johnson and Brooks and Dunn on the menu, Munsick said he feels he is in the best possible company.
“That’s just really cool,” Munsick said. “So even if I never played another gig, that would be all right I think.”
Of course, not to worry, Wyoming fans, Munsick has many more “gigs” planned. He has an album coming out April 18 and he is already hard at work on his next album after that one.
Kix Brooks, left, and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn will play Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2025, it was announced March 6, 2025. They'll perform July 23 in a night show with Chancey Williams. (Getty Images) 
Country music superstar Travis Tritt will headline the 2025 Cheyenne Frontier Days concert series with Wyoming's own Ian Munsick in a July 18 night show. (Getty Images)
A Real Homecoming
Munsick actually already knew he was headlining Cheyenne Frontier Days quite awhile back.
“I was on tour with Lainey Wilson,” Munsick said. “And my drummer is like, ‘Hey Ian, by the way, we’re playing Frontier Days next year.’”
Munsick was like, “Say what?!?”
But he couldn’t ask for more details, nor could he even talk about it the whole time he was on stage with Wilson. It was killing him to perform with such bombshell news in the back of his mind.
“That was the hardest part,” Munsick said. “It’s just kind of hard to keep your head on straight when something like that happens.”
Munsick sees the Cheyenne Frontier Days concert as a bit like a homecoming, as he sees every Wyoming appearance he makes.
“We definitely had a good turnout at Cheyenne Frontier Days when we opened up for Parker McCollum two or three years ago,” Munsick said.
“But headlining is just, it’s like, man, those people are there to see you play. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to feel like when we headline. I’ll probably break down at least once on stage, because that is just the pinnacle, that is just the apex of my career.”
It comes amid an actual homecoming for Munsick, who has just bought a new home in Wyoming. Munsick said he is moving back to his home state for good.
Munsick moved to Nashville when he was 18 to pursue his musical dreams. But coming back home was always his goal.
“I feel like my last album, ‘White Buffalo,’ I just kind of really started to figure out who I was as a man, like as a dad, and as a rep for Wyoming,” Munsick said. “Being able to really achieve my dream of moving to Nashville and making a run out of being an artist, but then, my main goal was always to come back to Wyoming and call Wyoming home again.”
The move has already been good for his work, Munsick said. He not only has a new album coming out, but he’s working on another one after that.
“Being back home has just really inspired new emotions in me, and new creative energy,” he said. “To be able to kind of capture that new emotion of returning home to Wyoming and being able to create music in Wyoming, as opposed to away from Wyoming, it’s a new chapter for me.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
