1 of 2
Alexa Campbell
2 of 2
There’s something comforting about the Christmas music classics—a warm-and-fuzzy feeling we all get from pulling out the old Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, or Mariah Carey favorites.
But let’s be honest, it can get a bit repetitive year after year.
Enter country star Jon Pardi, whose new take on Christmas music will liven up your holiday season. With Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi, 12 fresh songs deliver unorthodox takes on a diverse array of seasonal favorites—plus a handful of quirky, Pardi-style originals. It adds up to a holiday set filled with Christmas spirit and the good times twang this rising star has become known for.
“I like that my album’s in the mix because I feel like something’s been missing from the Christmas records—a little fresh energy,” Pardi says. “We attempted to do a honky tonk kind of rock-and-roll, jazzy vibe. They’re all over the board and it’s really fun.”
Longtime fans would expect nothing less. Since his breakout with the Platinum-certified California Sunrise in 2015, the Dixon, California, native has earned a reputation as one of country’s more traditional-sounding stars specializing in rowdy, drinks-in-the-air-style songs. Drenching his country in cranked-up electric twang and pounding rhythms, he’s scored six number ones, including “Head Over Boots,” “Heartache Medication” and his latest chart- topper, “Your Heart or Mine.” Each is performed with the signature raspy vocals and mischievous personality that have made Pardi the new face of retro-modern country music. Along the way, he’s passed a few milestones, even becoming the first-ever California native inducted into the Grand Ole Opry this October. But a Christmas album was one benchmark that proved elusive. Finally, he just decided to go for it.
“I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas record. It just sounded fun! It’s been many years of hearing Christmas music, and being like, ‘Damn it, I still haven’t made a record!’” he says with a laugh. “Eventually, I was just like, ‘Alright, we’re doing a Christmas record!’”
Calling Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi a “playlist”-style effort, the singer-songwriter focused on finding songs that weren’t “standard issue,” or “the ones that have been kind of burned through,” he explains. But with the vast quantity of holiday music out there, that quest is easier said than done. It took some late-night TV and a personal favorite to break the seal.
“We were backstage at [The Tonight Show Starring] Jimmy Fallon warming up, and there was a honky-tonk piano in the studio,” he recalls. “We wheeled it out thinking of what Christmas songs to do. I’ve always loved the Eagles’‘Please Come Home for Christmas,’ so we tried that as a band with just the piano and harmony and it was actually really moving. This one crew member came out of the shadows and was wiping his eyes, and I was like, ‘Maybe there’s something to this.’”
On the album, Pardi and his band recreate that spontaneous moment, adding in some steel guitar and soulful sax for a down-home doo-wop vibe. He then tried to stay in that refreshing headspace, filling the rest of the set with a mix of tunes that are sure to get any ugly-sweater party grooving.
“I’m not going to lie, I got a pretty good buzz and just went through some Christmas songs,” he laughs.
Tracked over a few days in February, Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi actually marks the first full project recorded by Pardi’s touring band, The All Nighters, and it was laid down in Pardi’s home studio/workshop, which he decked out in lights and fake snow for the occasion. The album was co-produced by Pardi with frequent collaborators Bart Butler and Ryan Gore.
“It came out real ‘big room’ sounding—really good,” Pardi says. “There’s lots of love on this record.”
He did choose a few standards like “Let It Snow,” giving the oldie a “dramatic” big band feel that matches flute to its steel guitar—slippery like a Northeastern sidewalk in December. Likewise, “Winter Wonderland” got a “jazzy, bluesy, Ray Charles kind of vibe,” and Pardi couldn’t resist including Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—in the style of Alan Jackson’s “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” of course. Other lesser-known tunes kept the project fresh and different, like Gary P. Nunn’s Western swing smile-maker “Swing on Down to Texas.”
“It’s amazing how many sad Christmas songs there are,” Pardi notes. “We were trying to get away from that.”
Unsurprisingly, the album’s originals help hit that mark. None were written by Pardi, but tracks like “400 Horsepower Sleigh” glide with the modern twang and romantic grooves he has made his signature, and “Beer for Santa” switches out milk and cookies for something a little more, well, Pardi-appropriate. “It’s like a hardcore rock- and-roll shuffle.”
Meanwhile, “Merry Christmas from the Keys” is an anthem for all those jet-setting Christmas travelers—a reggae-style jam better suited for daiquiris and sunscreen than eggnog and snow— and Pardi proclaims it will be the inspiration for his first Christmas special.
“When we do get a Christmas special, it’s going to be filmed in Key West, let it be known!” he says with another laugh. “But we’ll probably cuss, so it’ll need to be on Netflix.”
Still, the holidays can also be a dreary time, and tunes like the unexpected “Long December” make the set eclectic. A hit for alt-rock icons Counting Crows in 1996, Pardi says he’s always wanted to cover the downcast ballad and hopes in this context it might help someone cope with the end of a rough year.
“It’s just to keep it real,” he says. “The record’s got so much variety on it. There’s a little bit for everybody and I’m very excited for it.”
He’s also excited for the chance to bring it to life, which he and the band will do at a headline holiday show at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on December 16. It’s their first-ever holiday concert, their first show at the Beacon, and their first Christmas album, so Pardi says he’s cutting no corners, even doubling the size of his band to capture its sound.
“It’s New York City during Christmas, which is already pretty magical,” he says. “But we’ll also have a 15-piece band with a 5-piece horn orchestra, twin fiddles, and two piano players. So, we’re not slacking on that!”
He didn’t slack on Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi, either. And in true Pardi fashion, he’s not worried about anything but having a good time. He’ll be happy if it puts a smile on people’s faces just once a year.
“I hope they have as much fun listening to it as we had making it,” he says. “Every time it gets unpacked and then gets packed back up until the next December, I hope it comes back out and helps make some Christmas memories.”