Known by all as the consummate good-time cowboy – he’s got the hat, belt buckle, and mischievous grin to prove it – country star Jon Pardi has reached the point where his reputation precedes him.
When fans hit play on his records, they come for hard twang and high energy, and he never disappoints. But with his new album Honkytonk Hollywood (out April 11), the California native really lets loose. Leaning into the brash spirit and melodic crunch of classic rock ‘n’ roll, his long-awaited fifth studio set opens new doors for a guy normally found falling “Head Over Boots,” or chasing a “Heartache On the Dancefloor.” And if that makes longtime fans squeamish, it shouldn’t. Despite adding some back-alley swagger to his usual gravel-road grit, Pardi’s honkytonk heart still beats strong – and that raspy voice still sets the mood. To him, “a little rowdy” has always been at the core of his music ... especially live shows.
“When they’re live, they’re all rock ‘n’ roll,” he says with a laugh. “It’s just funny how when you record stuff, you tailor [the songs] a little bit. They get more suited and booted. But live, it’s just balls out, we’re having a fun time!” “We did a little pop-up show at The Stage downtown [during February’s Country Radio Seminar], and we played ‘Hard Knocks’ off the new record,” Pardi continues. “Everybody’s drinking and partying. And then we played [6X-Platinum Number One] ‘Dirt On My Boots,’ and ‘Dirt On My Boots’ was just as rocking!”
It’s a fair point. Of Pardi’s four previous albums – all of which hit the Top 5 of Billboard’s Country Albums chart, including the breakout 2016 Number One California Sunrise – his superpower has always been injecting authentic twang with an explosive torrent of dive-bar distortion. Thirteen Gold or Platinum singles and five Billboard #1s followed, but after almost 10 years on the road, Pardi looked up and noticed everything had changed. Pretty much anything is possible in country music now, and he doesn’t want to miss out.
“It was FOMO, for sure,” he admits – only half joking about the creative “fear of missing out.” “Like, everybody else is doing their stuff that they grew up [listening to]. I don’t know what the hell country music is anymore. We got heavy metal country, we got rap country, we got pop stars singing country, we got Beyoncé country. I was like, ‘Maybe I should do something like that.’ But mine was just kind of gentle.”
Seizing the opportunity, Pardi enlisted a producer with a reputation of his own – one for mad-cap rock experimentalism, Jay Joyce. A Grammy-winning Cleveland native, Joyce has spent years bringing out the best in everyone from Eric Church and Cage the Elephant to Little Big Town, and Pardi was all in. He and his touring band spent about four weeks in Joyce’s studio (a converted East Nashville church), building 17 edgy tracks from ground up, “taking naps on couches,” and generally living the quintessential rock-star life – although he’d like to point out that’s nothing new.
“I am a rock star! I got four tour buses doing shows around the world!” he proclaims. “I don’t know what rock star means, but some of that’s in there.”
The title track helped define how far he was willing to go. A double-sided tribute to Pardi’s West Coast roots and pure-country dedication – with a rambling roots-rock vibe – the track also reminded Pardi of his wife, Summer, who seems equally at home at a rodeo or strolling Rodeo Drive. Meanwhile, others like “Boots Off ” hit the creative bullseye, recalling his boot-flavored breakout hits with a touch more “Georgia Satellites” grit – and some Saturday Night Live- style “more cowbell,” because why not?
“I love the fun of getting home from a night partying, and here comes the real fun, getting the boots off,” he says of the flirtatious anthem. “That’s the fun of doing records with Jay – you just never know. He’s like, ‘We need a cowbell!’ And I’m like, ‘Said no one ever!’ But now you can’t hear it without the cowbell.”
He’s still up for a steamy romantic anthem –
“Got a lot of making baby songs on this record,” Pardi proclaims – but the father of two young daughters also shows new maturity – “a little more grownup, kind of less party and a little more sentimental.” And he hasn’t turned away from country balladry at all. Tunes like the reverent “He Went to Work” is a tribute to the hard-working dads like the one Pardi had and hopes to be himself. And “She Drives Away” looks ahead to the day his own girls head down the road, using triple fiddles and a gentle touch.
Put together, they make ideal additions to one of the most engaging live shows in country music. Launching his headlining Honkytonk Hollywood Tour this month (April 25 in Lubbock, Texas), more than a dozen dates across the U.S. and Canada are on tap, and Pardi is ready for the jolt of new energy.
“God, that’s like some new crack!” he says, joking about the rush of his new set list. “Any entertainer is going to tell you that feeling of somebody singing back your song or a crowd going crazy, you can’t get that from any kind of substance. It’s only you and the audience feel that, and to have that for a new tour? Even our opening song, ‘Honkytonk Hollywood,’ ... it’s like ‘Boom! Welcome to a new chapter!’ You don’t get that every tour because sometimes you’re like two-and-a-half years into one album.”
With adventurous new tunes and the same old good-timing spirit, it looks like Pardi’s reputation will remain intact. But he’s also hoping Honkytonk Hollywood changes expectations, throwing a curveball that keeps fans on their toes – and gives a better idea of what’s under the hat.
“Hopefully, they hear a deeper layer of songwriting, singing, performing, just taking my life and putting it in there,” he explains. “And I hope it’s a refreshing feeling to all the wildness going on these days.”