Jordan DavisWhen Jordan Davis talks about coming back to Australia, there’s no hint of obligation or routine press tour politeness, he’s actually buzzing. “I’m pumped. I can't wait to be back over there,” he says, reflecting on his return as a headliner. “We had an absolute blast last time, so we're excited to be back over as headliners.”
It’s a full-circle moment that doesn’t go unnoticed. Not even a decade ago, Davis was opening shows before his debut album Home State had even dropped. Now in 2026, he’s headlining his own Australian tour and sitting at the top of the bill at CMC Rocks this year. “When you say it like that, it is kind of weird,” he laughs. “That’s crazy”
At the heart of this chapter is Learn The Hard Way, an album that feels reflective without being heavy-handed, and confident without losing its warmth. For Davis, the title isn’t just a neat summary, it’s a lifelong theme. “That has definitely been something that you know, going back to being a kid,” he explains. “My parents would always say it’s like, ‘Man, I could tell you till I was blue in the face, but you just had to learn things the hard way.’”
That idea weaves its way through the track list, songs like Mess With Missing You, Memory Don’t Mess Around, Her Way or the Highway and Turn This Truck Around. “Songs that felt like the person singing them didn't quite learn his lesson the first time,” Davis says. “And kind of had to be reminded that the hard way was not the easy way to figure things out.”
When the title track came together, he knew it tied everything up. “It felt like it was the perfect way to kind of wrap up a lot of those songs.”
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Creatively, the album’s direction clicked early thanks to Good Gone Bad. “That was one of the first songs that we wrote for this record that just had a different feel to it,” he says. “Without Good Gone Bad, I don’t think we write Louisiana Stick, I don’t think we write Turn This Truck Around.” For Davis, it opened the door to something new. “It was like, ‘Oh man, we haven't done anything like this.’ The studio was different, the writing process was different.”
Sonically the new record feels like it sits neatly between Home State and Bluebird Days, and that evolution was intentional. “That means the world that you said that because that’s exactly what we wanted to do,” Davis says of the album sitting between Home State and Bluebird Days. “We wanted to kind of blend Home State and Bluebird Days in, but also give this record its own kind of thing.” While Bluebird Days leaned into heavier subject matter, this time around he wanted balance. “I wanted to make a record that we could tour and have fun playing.”
The collaborations help cement that energy. Carly Pearce was an obvious choice. “We’ve been talking about doing a song together for the longest time,” Davis says. Marcus King, meanwhile, left a serious mark. “I’ve just been such a fan of Marcus for so long, Louisiana Stick was definitely kind of written when I was listening to a bunch of Marcus King. So, you could probably kind of hear some of that.” he explains.
“When we went in to record it, you know, we were like, ‘Man, let’s just try to record this song like Marcus King would do it.’ And then we just kind of looked at each other like, ‘Yeah, why don't we ask Marcus to be on this?’” he laughs. “Man, he took that song over the top and made it what it is.”
It would of course be remiss to not bring up the fact that Pearce is also appearing on the CMC Rocks 2026 line up alongside Davis. When questioned about the potential of seeing Davis and Pearce perform Mess With Missing You live together the answer was simple “I would say extremely close to 100%. I mean, if Carly’s there, we're definitely going to sing that song together.”
Live, the new material is already finding its footing. “Turn This Truck Around and Son of a Gun are two that feel like they’re kind of starting to raise its hand,” Davis says. At the same time, fans are keeping him honest. “One that I’m getting yelled at for not playing is Memory Don’t Mess Around.’” He laughs, adding he promises to include it in the Australian set list, “It’s a good problem to have whenever making a setlist is tough.”
Australian fans, in particular, have made a lasting impression and the feeling is mutual. As tickets to his headline show went on sale, “It’s made me love you guys even more,” Davis says of the overwhelming response to his headline shows. “So, expect us to play a lot of songs and expect us to play for a long time. We’re going to try to give y'all your money’s worth.”
Returning to Australia and CMC Rocks as the headliner isn’t just another career milestone for Davis, “It feels like it’s something that’s just kind of snowballing. I think it’s just going to mean more country artists coming over, more tours, more shows.” What excites him most is the reach of the songs themselves. “I can write about growing up in my hometown in Louisiana and travel halfway across the world to Australia and have these songs connect. That, to me, is the coolest thing.”
For anyone seeing Davis live for the first time, his advice is refreshingly simple. “Listen to a lot of music, loud volumes,” he laughs, before explaining that his shows are built around momentum. “We try to jam a ton of songs, and we don’t like downtime in shows.”
His mindset is connection rather than perfection. “If we have fun on stage, it transfers to the fan. If we have fun, they have fun,” he says. And if you want the full Davis experience? “Come ready to have fun and probably drink some tequila. If you’re a drinker - I’m a fan of tequila.” he laughs.
Joining him in Australia are US support acts Tucker Wetmore and Vincent Mason. “We’ve just started the conversation on how we’re going to make these shows a little extra special.” And yes, the Aussie traditions are firmly back on the table. “Tucker and Vincent better get ready,” Davis jokes. “I’m passing [the shoeys] off to the young guns.” That said, he’s not ruling himself out. “Don’t get me wrong, I love a good old shoey. I’m going to start my shoey conditioning about two weeks out, so I’ll be primed.”
With Learn The Hard Way out in the world, CMC Rocks on the horizon and a headline Australian tour nearly sold out, Jordan Davis is arriving in Australia with momentum, gratitude and a catalogue that keeps getting harder to fit into one setlist.
Tickets to Jordan Davis’ Ain’t Enough Road Tour are on sale via Frontier Touring
