Jon Pardi: 'You Could Do The Same Old, But It Comes To A Point Where It’s 'Push Yourself'' 

Jon Pardi sits at a table on the back patio of his place on a Tuesday evening in Nashville. His cowboy hat rides low, and initially, he speaks to the table itself so you can’t see his face. He warms up, though, pushes back ten gallons, and he smiles as he talks about where his music is going, about where he’s going.

Pardi is a candid interview once he warms up. He’s been there and done it, riding the media train over the ten and a half years since the release of his label debut, 2014’s Write You A Song. And he’s been there and done it where it matters too, on stage and in the studio, producing music that, while firmly rooted in neotraditional country territory, hasn’t been afraid to straddle any and all styles in order to flesh things out. For, as Pardi says, there ain’t no point in standing still.

“I want people talking about it, you know?” he muses at one point. “You could do the same old, same old shit… but it comes to a point where it’s ‘push yourself’. 

“There’s so many aspects of country music now – you got Hardy doing heavy metal, killing it; Morgan (Wallen) is halfway rapping; Post Malone’s here, it’s like, jump in the game, show ‘em you’re still there, you can do all that stuff, you can do this and still keep fiddle and that around, just let ‘em know – don’t be sleepin’ on me, man, ninja.” He karate chops with his hands.

“Just do something fun,” he then shrugs, “because there comes a point where if you do the same thing over and over and over again, it’s just a sign of going crazy.”

Pardi is currently in the midst of a serious run about the States on the Mr Saturday Night Tour, a run which has been on the go for a while, following the 2022 release of his album of the same name.

It’ll see him head to Australia next year, Pardi recently being announced as a headliner for 2025’s CMC Rocks in Willowbank in Queensland. “We never got to play CMC Rocks in Australia before… this’ll be our first time; it’s gonna be fun,” he enthuses. 

Of the extraordinary number of streams and album sales Pardi has amassed over the past decade, a decent number stems from Australia, indicating an affinity down under with his music, something which isn’t lost on him.

“Yeah, I feel like everyone is western out in Australia, you know?” he smiles. “They got cowboy in their blood; they’re just tough. You’re tough in Australia, it’s a big, tough country… and you know, everyone seems very active and doing their thing and loves country. I feel it’s very relatable [to me], the people alone, aside from the music.”

The music itself is taking a new turn, or at the very least, is being pumped up a notch. Pardi’s newest single is Friday Night Heartbreaker, a precursor to the man’s next studio record, which has been in production for a little while now. “[We’ve taken] a little more time on this record; we recorded it in two weeks, me and the band and some of the studio guys,” Pardi confirms. 

“The chain was off, you know? We just said, I’m gonna record everything I want – I like this song, I’m gonna record it, and we’ll make it sound country and rock. And you take Friday Night Heartbreaker, it’s got a lot of bells and whistles, it’s rockin’, it’s got a different edge to it, it’s kinda spooky.”

Carefully crafted, Friday Night Heartbreaker is indeed spooky, a little more low-key than a lot of Pardi’s previous work, but with an underlying drive to it, like there’s more to come, just over the horizon, and it could be something big.

A large reason for this slight change in direction, in stylistic addition, is Pardi’s collaboration on this album with renowned producer and writer Jay Joyce, whose resume reads like a who’s who of American music – Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Zac Brown, Lainey Wilson, as well as the likes of Tin Finn, The Wallflowers and Iggy Pop outside of the country realm. As Pardi says of Joyce, “Everything around me was changing, so I thought maybe it’s time to chase down a dream and make a record with Jay Joyce.

“He’s one of my favourite producers in Nashville, and it was so fun making this record – me and Jay hit it off, the band hit it off, and it was that moment where it just felt so good that you don’t care what happens. I’m proud of this record, [and] I’m proud of everything. No matter what happens, who cares? It’s a great record, and I stand by it.”

As yet unnamed and without a release date, the new album won’t be far off, and there’s little doubt Pardi and the band will be sharing a bunch of it live when they grace the CMC Rocks stage next March. And with good reason – Pardi is inordinately excited about this release, the change in sonic direction, and the real freedom he’s felt throughout the production process thus far.

“I wrote eight on the record, and there’s 17 [on there],” he explains. “There are some phenomenal songs – we had a meeting [with the songwriters] back in January, and I told ‘em what was going on… there were, like, 150 songwriters! I said, instead of sending me a hit, send me something that means something to you… and we got so many great songs. That’s why there’s 17; we just couldn’t let ‘em go; it was a really cool process.”

So, as we wind up and Pardi leans back on his porch on a Tuesday evening in Nashville, it’s knowing that change is in the air, and this sure as shit ain’t something Pardi is worried about. “Change is good, change is weird, change is uncomfortable, sometimes it’s necessary, and I’m really proud of [the old records]… but as of right now, we’re riding the wave of a great new record with Jay.”

Jon Pardi will headline CMC Rocks 2025 alongside Thomas Rhett and Cody Johnson. Tickets are sold out, but you can look here for details on any additional tickets being released.

CMC ROCKS 2025 Full Lineup

CODY JOHNSON (USA), JON PARDI (USA), THOMAS RHETT (USA)

With:
COLE SWINDELL (USA)
BILLY CURRINGTON (USA)
KOE WETZEL (USA)
MUSCADINE BLOODLINE (USA)
WYATT FLORES (USA)
LARRY FLEET (USA)
DYLAN MARLOWE (USA)
ASHLEY COOKE (USA)
ZACH TOP (USA)
KAYLEE BELL (NZ)
ALANA SPRINGSTEEN (USA)
OLE 60 (USA)
TRAVIS COLLINS (AU)
DALTONDOVER (USA)
CARTER FAITH (USA)
MACKENZIE CARPENTER (USA)
KASHUS CULPEPPER (USA)
LANE PITTMAN (AU)
ZAC & GEORGE (AU)
KEZIA GILL (UK)
MAX JACKSON (AU)
AMY SHEPPARD (AU)
SINEAD BURGESS (AU)
ABBIE FERRIS (AU)
IMOGEN CLARK (AU)
THE BUCKLEYS(AU)
DENVAH (AU)
VIXENS OF FALL (AU)
Y.O.G.A. (AU)
DEE JAYE BUX (AU)
DJ KONSKY (AU)

WITH STAGE HOSTS STORME WARREN, MIKE CARR & D.J. GRIZZLY ADAMS

21-23 March 2025 - Willowbank Raceway, Ipswich, Queensland