Ella Langley isn't just breaking records—she's breaking the rulebook. The "Choosin' Texas" superstar is doing something "extraordinary" by taking an all-female lineup of openers on her Dandelion headlining tour, and the country music establishment is taking notice.
Since dropping "Choosin' Texas" last year, Langley has surpassed Taylor Swift for the longest-running country Number One, became the first female artist to top the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay simultaneously, and won seven ACM awards. As the tour resumes this weekend and wraps in August in Texas, she is using her platform to lift up emerging artists.
The openers are Gabriella Rose, Kaitlin Butts, Avery Anna, Laci Kaye Booth, and Madeline Edwards. Langley is booking these women regardless of their radio traction, deliberately sidestepping country music's preference for "lower-risk" openers who have already proven themselves on the airwaves.
"Ella is such a role model for what skyrocketing with grace looks like," Butts told Rolling Stone. The singer credits Langley with changing her life—first by using her TikTok trend, then casting her in the "Choosin' Texas" music video, and now giving her a prime tour slot. "That's what I love about her, a win for her means a win for all of us women in country music."
This mirrors a broader pattern. Langley's Dandelion was co-produced by Miranda Lambert, who co-wrote "Choosin' Texas" and pioneered this model with her 2019 Roadside Bars & Pink Guitar tour, featuring Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Elle King, and others. Morris followed suit with her GIRL World Tour.
Country radio still plays women once an hour. Tour slots like these become lifelines. Langley understands this, and she is making sure the next generation of female country stars gets their shot.
