It’s the nature of the game, really, when zipping from one gig to the next with, often times, thousands of fans depending on you to at least show up and make some noise. A fan-favorite out west, Williams jumps between the Rockies as often as you or I refill our coffee mug, but a 12-hour leg from Dickinson, North Dakota, to Ogden marked one of the more crucial dates of his 2025 tour, and ultimately saw Williams booked again for Bulls, Broncs and Bands after headlining the first-ever rodeo and concert last summer as part of the city’s historic Ogden Pioneer Days Celebration.

Friday, Williams will do it all again: a roughstock rodeo featuring bulls and saddlebroncs, followed by a full set featuring work from his latest album, “Miles On Me,” which released last fall via Younger Brothers Records. It’s been a busy 2026 already with the release of three new singles, including “Saddle Up,” which dropped late last month following shows in Nashville and the Baker-Spain Stampede in South Greenfield, Missouri.

His Bulls, Broncs and Bands follow-up, though, has a special slot in Williams’ summer lineup.

“Our fanbase is rodeos and fairs and things like Pioneer Days – people that attend those concerts understand the lingo of a cowboy and things I write about,” Williams said. “It’s a really nice spot to have a concert because they’ve chopped the arena down a little bit and have the stage all ready to go… We always enjoy coming to Utah, but Ogden, especially, has been really good for us and we have a great fanbase out there that comes out and knows the music, so when we heard we got it for a second year, we were really excited.”

Photo supplied, HomeSlice Group

The plan is to stick around town a little longer, Williams said, and explore more of the Northern Utah community that left an imprint on him following last year’s performance. Williams performed one of the first shows at the 10,441-seat Spencer Fox Eccles Ogden Pioneer Stadium since the venue’s $4 million renovation project wrapped in 2024.

“We had a really long run to get there,” Williams said. “We’re excited to get there a little early, enjoy the town a bit and get to know the town of Ogden. I’ve heard it’s a really nice town, but I’ve never gotten to explore it much.”

Live rodeo is a natural extension of the stage for Williams, who grew up in Moorcroft, Wyoming, a community of roughly 900 residents. Williams qualified for the high school nationals and later attended Casper College on a rodeo scholarship; He’d become a two-time national qualifier at the University of Wyoming, and shortly after graduating his career goals shifted toward music.

A family friend of fellow country musician Chris LeDoux, Williams landed an internship working on behalf of the late Toby Keith’s Nashville label upon finishing school in Wyoming. It’s influenced his role as a showrunner, too, opening for the likes of Keith, Alan Jackson and George Strait.

“It was a dream come true,” Williams said of his time in Nashville.

Photo supplied, HomeSlice Group

“Our history with Chris, he’d let us open for (Keith) a couple of times before he passed away, and we kind of had a foot in the door with the management company, which led me to believe I could become a country music artist… Song selection and stuff I sing about have always been important to me, and putting on a show… I take that all into account when we’re putting a show together.”

Friday’s show features a new setlist and another “wild” roughstock rodeo, as Williams described, that he hopes leaves fans satisfied once again. Tickets are available for $52 via AXS. This year’s Pioneer Day Celebration includes another visit from Roosevelt native Charley Jenkins following the Pioneer Day Rodeo on July 23. A full list of weeklong acts are available via the concerts and shows page at ogdenpioneerdays.com/concerts-and-shows.

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.