The 12-track yuletide album, produced by Pardi himself alongside Bart Butler and Ryan Gore, is already up for pre-add/pre-save, promising a mix of traditional tunes and Pardi’s signature country charm. This festive release coincides with a significant milestone in Pardi’s career, as he’s poised to become the first California native inducted into the revered Grand Ole Opry during the same week.

Tickets for ‘A Very Merry Christmas With Jon Pardi’ at Beacon Theatre will be available for purchase starting on October 3, through Citi Presale and Pardi Animals Fan Club. General on-sale kicks off on October 6 at 10 AM via LiveNation.com or JonPardi.com, so mark your calendars for a holiday event you won’t want to miss.

But the festive fun doesn’t stop there. Pardi is set to usher in the holiday spirit at Nashville’s beloved Opry Country Christmas shows on November 26. Returning to the Grand Ole Opry House for the third consecutive year, this performance marks Pardi’s inaugural appearance as an Opry member, making it an unforgettable event for both the artist and his fans.

Make sure to secure your tickets for the December 16 holiday show at Beacon Theatre and the Opry Country Christmas festivities. It’s going to be a country Christmas to remember!

The post Jon Pardi unwraps first-ever Christmas album & announces festive shows in New York and Nashville appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

So lovely to speak to you Jon, thanks for giving us your time on a busy day.

No problem. Busy day. Busy week with no time!

Farm, family or music?

A little bit of everything! (laughing) I’ve got some good co-writes coming up Tuesday and Wednesday which is always good but then I gotta take off again. It’s all gonna be fine!

There’s a lot of excitement over here in the UK for your Long Road festival appearance and debut shows, how are you feeling about it?

The excitement is very much mutual! (laughing) All our stuff is getting ready to be shipped out on the boat and we’re bringing all the band. I guess it’s like an adventure for us, being the first time over there and we don’t get a lot of first-times anymore. I hear the festival is a good one and everybody is pretty rowdy?

It’s a great setting and if the weather holds it’ll be fantastic. Are Summer and Presley coming or is it a strictly music trip?

They are going to stay back here in the States for this one. It’s hard going anywhere with the baby, right? You’ve got to pack up all this stuff – the diaper bag, all that stuff, you know? (laughing) Presley’s got an entourage, man, there’s all the stuff and all the people everywhere she goes!

Has anyone given you any jet-lag tips yet?

Sleep? I’m not expecting London to be as bad as Australia was when we went out there in 2019, that was pretty hard. I think I’ll be alright this time, I’m just thinking that the sleep won’t be as good. We’re aiming to see stuff and soak up everything we can whilst we’re over there.

‘Mr Saturday Night’, the album, has been out for a while now. Have you been pleased with the reception to it?

Yeah, it’s been great. ‘Last Night Lonely’ was huge and it looks like we’ll have two number one singles from the album so you can’t argue with that can you? We play ‘Mr Saturday Night’, the song, every night and that one is a crowd-pleaser, for sure. People seem to have really enjoyed the new songs live out on tour and we are working on a new set for the fall tour too.

Now I’m moving on and my thoughts have turned towards making a new record! People can’t get enough new music these days can they?

Do you feel a pressure to always be generating new content?

I mean, I don’t a ‘pressure’ as such. I’m hard on myself, you know? It used to be that I would get done with a record and not really know when the next one would be put out but now I’m done with one and we start looking for new songs right away, I think it’s fun. Why not? Why not make as much music as you can?

My goal now is to try and get music out faster and try to get songs up the charts faster so we can keep moving forward and I feel like, more than ever now, people love music -it’s a need they have – and if it makes people feel better it’s up to me to supply it. It’s good for the soul and it makes me feel better.

Are you co-writing with anyone who you are particularly excited to get in a room with?

I’m always excited to write with Luke Laird, I’ve got a couple of co-writes with him coming up. I’m also going to write with some new guys in town which should keep things a little fresh. Got to get some more dates on the books for that but we’ll work it out over the next few months.

What sort of milestone in your career was the offer of the Opry induction by Alan Jackson from the stage of the Stagecoach festival? The first Californian native to be inducted into the Grand ‘Ole Opry.

I didn’t know it was happening at all man! I thought it was awesome that we were just on the bill at Stagecoach, you know? (laughing) Friday night, right before Luke Bryan? That was fun but becoming an Opry member is a dream come true.

The other massive thing that’s happened to you this year was becoming a dad for the first time. What’s dad life like?

It’s so good. I’m lucky because Summer is a great wife and mother – she understands that I have to go out and do the music stuff but I do feel lucky that I’ve had a good deal of ‘Presley time’ this year so far. We haven’t toured that hard this year although I swear that every time I go out on the road and come back home she’s got bigger and she’s doing something different. (laughing)

Are you getting much sleep? When my second was born I didn’t sleep for the first 18 months because he didn’t sleep for the first 18 months!

(laughing) Actually Presley is a sleeper! We got lucky on that one. She’ll sleep through the night most nights. She goes to bed at 7.30pm and sleeps right through too 7.30am. She’s a big girl and she needs her time to grow! (laughing)

The tour with Lainey Wilson and Hailey Whitters last year in support of the album looks like it was a lot of fun.

Man, that whole tour was such fun. Being out with the girls was great. They are my friends, first and foremost, which makes it even better. I’d known Lainey for a while and I knew Hailey from before she even had a record deal and they are both such lovely and talented people.

Me and Hailey have written a song together that is probably going to end up on my next record. She’s a great writer, easily one of my faves. When you have good people out on the road with you it’s like touring with your family. I miss that tour – we just got reunited at the Country Thunder festival out here and we hung out and talked out the tour and what we enjoyed about it. Lainey is killing it right now too – we’re all team mates trying to push each other to the next level.

We can’t wait to see you over in the UK so safe travels. When you play festivals do you approach the set a little different to when it’s one of your own headline shows?

Yeah, we do. We normally have a little acoustic segment in our shows but we’ve learned that at a festival that sort of moment just doesn’t work so we just plough through, full-on, loud, in your face type stuff. We don’t tend to play many slow songs at festivals, we just like to pump everybody up!

The post Interview: Jon Pardi looks ahead to his UK debut and talks about dad life & new music appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Pardi then returns for the North American leg of the Mr. Saturday Night World Tour, and rolls through Knoxville, Savannah, St. Louis, Fort Worth, Las Vegas, and more including dates in Ontario and B.C. Opening acts include Midland, Jackson Dean, Randall King, Ella Langley, and DJ Highmax on select dates.

Tickets will be available starting with a Citi presale beginning on Tuesday, March 21 and additional presales throughout the week (details below). The general onsale for the tour begins Friday, March 24 at 10 AM Local Time on LiveNation.com or JonPardi.com. Fans can also purchase VIP Packages for the tour, which may include: premium tickets, a backstage tour, a group photo backstage, an invitation to the PARDI TIME! VIP Lounge, a limited-edition gift item, and more. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

Citi is the official card of the 2023 Mr. Saturday Night World Tour and Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, March 21 at 10 AM local time until Thursday, March 23 at 10 PM local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visitwww.citientertainment.com.

Fans can also take part in the Jon Pardi Fan Club Presale by joining Pardi’s email list (here) by today at 11pm ET to receive the presale code to their inbox on Tuesday morning.

Since first hitting the country landscape, Jon Pardi has long since separated himself from the pack, carving a lane that was all his own by producing, writing, and singing songs he created from the melodies up, and earning praise for it. “Jon Pardi cut a path through modern country’s embrace of pop, hip-hop and EDM” (The New York Times) with “an emboldened work… a distilling of his sound into a more potent form that draws both vitality and assurance from his anything-but-sterile relationship to his tradition’s modern era” (NPR). With his “state-of-the-art blend of traditional instrumentation and progressive grooves that point to country’s future” (Rolling Stone), Pardi is “a leader among a growing number of artists bringing back fiddle, steel and twang” (People). “Even when he’s singing sad songs, he wants people to have a good time” (Associated Press).

Named a “hero in the making” (Variety), Pardi has earned five No. 1s on country radio and is noted for his “long-lasting mark on the genre” (MusicRow) and his impressive ability to carve out his own path creating “the kind of country music multiple generations came to know, and love can still wok on a mass scale” (Variety). Filled with fiddle, twang and steel guitar, Pardi continues to “apply new ideas to country’s old sounds” (Los Angeles Times) and “bring authenticity back into Country music” (People).

JON PARDI 2023 MR. SATURDAY NIGHT WORLD TOUR DATES:

* Midland, Ella Langley, DJ Highmax | + Randall King, Ella Langley, DJ Highmax

# Jackson Dean, Ella Langley, DJ Highmax | ~ Ella Langley Only Support

^ Not a Live Nation Date

Friday, August 25 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Ulster Hall^~

Sunday, August 27 – Lutterworth, U.K. – The Long Road Festival

Monday, August 28 – Glasgow, U.K. – Old Fruitmarket~

Tuesday, August 29 – Manchester, U.K. – O2 Ritz~

Thursday, August 31 – Bristol, U.K. – O2 Academy~

Friday, September 1 – London, U.K. – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire~

Sunday, September 3 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg^~

Monday, September 4 – Hamburg, Germany – Gruenspan^~

Wednesday, September 6 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller~

Thursday, September 7 – Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Strand^~

Thursday, September 28 – Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Coliseum*

Friday, September 29 – Pikeville, KY – Appalachian Wireless Arena*

Saturday, September 30 – Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena*

Thursday, October 5 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood*

Friday, October 6 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena*

Saturday, October 7 – Jacksonville, FL – Dailys Place*

Thursday, October 19 – Brookings, SD – Swiftel Center*

Friday, October 20 – Omaha, NE – Baxter Arena*

Saturday, October 21 – St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena*

Thursday, October 26 – Eugene, OR – Matthew Knight Arena*

Friday, October 27 – Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Centre*

Saturday, October 28 – Everett, WA – Angel Of The Winds Arena*

Thursday, November 2 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Arena+

Friday, November 3 – Missoula, MT – Adams Center#

Saturday, November 4 – Billings, MT – First Interstate Arena at MetraPark#

Thursday, November 16 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens#

Friday, November 17 – Oshawa, ON – Tribute Communities Centre#

Saturday, November 18 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center+

Thursday, November 30 – Independence, MO – Cable Dahmer Arena+

Friday, December 1 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center+

Saturday, December 2 – Fort Worth, TX – DICKIES ARENA (Support to be announced)

Friday, December 8 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center at Fresno State#

Saturday, December 9 – Las Vegas, NV – Michelob ULTRA Arena#

The post Jon Pardi announces the ‘Mr Saturday Night’ World tour including UK shows appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The episode showcases a tour prank on Whitters in honor of her last show, Pardi gifting Whitters and Wilson with a special end-of-tour gift. Pardi and his wife, Summer, also banter about pregnancy “what not to do’s” over a bowl of clam chowder. The ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ singer also treats fans with a peek into his show day rituals – including bringing adoptable puppies to the venue for a pre-show hang with his crew to build morale. You can watch the special below:

The post Go ‘On the Road’ with Jon Pardi in Boston in a Special CMT show: Watch Here appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

We were thrilled to grab 15 minutes of Jon’s time recently to talk all about it.

Thank you for giving us your time today, Jon. We’re going to start with a couple of congratulations. First of all, congratulations on ‘Mr Saturday Night’, which we think is your most complete album to date and secondly, congratulations on being number one in the charts with ‘Last Night Lonely’.

Thank you for both of those awesome compliments, I’ll take it! (laughing)

What does the milestone and achievement of having a number one hit mean to you?

It’s hard work to get there! Hearing a song or having an idea and then seeing it through to that stage is hard work but very satisfying. The best part is knowing that fans and listeners love the song as much as we do. In the current climate of Country music with people like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and my good buddy, Kane Brown dominating the charts, it’s always great to be alongside them and still in the mix.

‘Mr Saturday Night’ has a wonderful flow to it and lots of different textures. Was that what you set out to achieve when you began the process of putting it together?

Well, yes and no. I always say that I make albums instinctively to where I’m led by emotion towards the songs that I may have co-written or have found. I live by those moments in the songs and then the album begins to emerge.

My life is so busy with being in the studio, touring and working on the ranch that I’m always looking for songs to provide the soundtrack to my life. Maybe this album feels particularly personal because we went through that period of not touring and being off the road, away from the fans. I’ve had seven of these songs ready to go for two years! (laughing)

You co-wrote five of the songs on the album. What do you look for in the songs that come from outside, that get pitched to you. Songs like ‘Last Night Lonely’ and ‘Your Heart or Mine’?

I can usually tell on the first listen if the song is going to be appealing to me, it’s a gut reaction thing. I then dig in and listen to it over and over again and then I do ‘the girl test’………

Ah, is that where Summer (Jon’s wife) comes in then?

(laughing) and that’s where Summer and her friends come in! The first big ‘girl’ test for this album was the track ‘Reverse Cowgirl’. That one definitely passed in some style, every woman I play that song to loves it and they wake up the next day singing ‘put that thing in reverse, cowgirl’!

When you saw the title of ‘Reverse Cowgirl’ it must have hooked you in straight away?

I was looking at it thinking, is this really going to be a great song or is it a bit of comedy, you know? Then when I listened to it I was, like, ‘Wow, this is an amazing song!’ (laughing) The songwriters that are on this record are buddies of mine and big fans and that really helps when you have songwriters that want to be a part of your career.

I think ‘Reverse Cowgirl’ could be a single. Have you got a clear view of what the singles will be from this album or are you going to wait and see what the fan reaction is?

Fan reaction could definitely help the process for sure. The next single is going to be ‘Your Heart or Mine’, which I’m really excited about. That one is definitely a groovy tune and a little different for me which will stick out on Country radio.

One of the strengths of the album is the light and shade it brings and the journey the listener goes on. The honky tonk songs like ‘Fill Her Up’ are great but my favourites are songs like ‘Neon Light Speed’ and ‘Raincheck’. Tell me about those two songs.

‘Raincheck’ is such a modern version of a Keith Whitley song. It has a modern melody in the verses but a classic chorus. My producer heard it and was like, ‘What a great song, I just wanna sit here and be fu**ing miserable!’ (laughing) We love those songs in Country music.

‘Neon Light Speed’ has such a movie feel to it. It’s so well written and cinematic, it takes you right to place where the neon is and there is this couple dancing. It’s such a pretty song and the chord changes are so sexy, it’s such a cool moment in the record. It would make a great music video too!

You’ve always used traditional instruments but you seem to have fallen in love with the fiddle on this album, it’s everywhere!

Jenee Fleenor is such a great player, man. She’s so confident now that she’ll come up with something spontaneous and I’ll be like, right, that’s on the record now too! (laughing) The funny part about Jenee is that when we were finishing up ‘Reverse Cowgirl’ it didn’t have an intro yet and we weren’t quite sure what to do so I said, just send the track to Jenee and ask her to put something on the front of it! She came back with this amazing, almost pure-Country fiddle, Western feel that blew us away.

Even in ‘Last Night Lonely’ she rocked that, man. You don’t hear too many number one songs with a fiddle in these days.

My live band represents the album live so well. We have fiddle, keys, steel – I’m so proud of my live band, we have such a killer set of players. There’s a bit of tracking but not much because I think it’s important to have as much live as you can. When I went to see George Strait in concert he always had everything there live and I feel the same way. I’ve even taught the guys to dance a little bit this time round! (laughing) We’re gonna be taking a little inspiration from The Temptations! (laughing)

There’s even a touch of Californian sunshine on the album in the form of ‘Santa Cruz’.

‘Santa Cruz’ is a true song. It was my first vacation with Summer. A few friends were there and we were doing fireworks and champagne on the beach. Everybody loves the beach and songs that remind us of a memory. It’s one of my favourites on the album and it also brings a slightly different feel to the album. We wrote that one back in 2018 and it’s been around for a while – everyone that has heard it over the years has been like, ‘Don’t give up on Santa Cruz, man, that feels like a good song for you’ so we are finally releasing it out into the wild! (laughing)

In what ways would you say that you have grown and evolved as an artist since the release of ‘Write You a Song’ back in in 2014?

I feel like I’ve lived a lot of life in the last few years and seen a lot more things, whether that’s out on the road or in my personal life. Taking the live show from 25 minutes to 90 minutes has spurred us on to be better too. I’ve met a lot of songwriters and had amazing discussions and sessions with them.

I’ve also learned to sit back and watch a little too. You can learn more by observing what’s going on around you than you can trying to drive it. When you first start out you are being observed by everybody and you are trying to prove your point but when you get past that you get a little freedom to do things your own way.

Everything I do is from the heart, it’s intentional and not calculated and I think the fans can see that.

Thank you for your time today Jon. We hope to see you sometime over here in the UK when you can fit us in too.

I think there’s a very good chance we will be over with y’all next year so watch out for that!

Jon Pardi’s new album ‘Mr Saturday Night’ is out today (September 2nd) on all platforms.

The post Interview: Jon Pardi talks number one hits, fiddles, authenticity & ‘Mr Saturday Night’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The album is bookended by two terrific examples of awesome lyrical bait-and-switch which Nashville and Country music is renowned for. Title track, ‘Mr Saturday Night’ should really be seen as ‘Missed Her Saturday Night’ and closer, ‘Reverse Cowgirl’ is not what you think it might be about at all, there needs to be a comma put in-between the two words in the title! The former is the poster-child song for this album with it’s fiddle driven vibe and bar room blues. It has a sort of drunken melody that fits the song perfectly as Pardi sings about playing up to an image after the end of a relationship whilst ‘Reverse Cowgirl’, which features a delightful vocal turn by Sarah Buxton, has a wonderful melody that exists right at that intersection where Texas meets Nashville as Pardi implores the departing woman to ‘put that thing in reverse, cowgirl,’ all to no avail.

There’s a good amount of honky-tonking all over ‘Mr Saturday Night’ if bar room guitars, organ, fiddle and piano is your thing. ‘Fill Her Up’ is a simple but infectious romp about having a good time with all your rowdy friends whilst ‘New Place to Drink’ and ‘Workin’ on a New One’ deal with those traditional subjects of women and beer with some style.

The light and shade and the nuance on ‘Mr Saturday Night’ comes on songs like ‘Neon Light Speed’, Raincheck’ and ‘Hung the Moon’. ‘Neon Light Speed’ starts with a kind of ‘Stand by Me’ vibe before building through the verses to arrive at a gorgeous, mid-tempo chorus and a bluesy guitar solo awash with romance. ‘Raincheck’, meanwhile, is pure 80s George Strait. A ballad about heartbreak and loss, it’s a slick, smooth retro-sounding Country song full of fiddles and feelings. ‘Hung the Moon’ could be, with a twist of production and a little less Country, a primetime 80’s Bon Jovi power ballad. There’s a depth to this song as Pardi sings about angels, redemption and growth. It’s not an obvious in-your-face song like ‘Last Night Lonely’ (which is the most obvious link on the album back to those that trio of big hits that Pardi had on his ‘Californian Sunshine’ album) but it’s a song that begins to breathe with repeated listens and patience, a true blue album track rather than a single but one that will delight time and time again.

That aforementioned Californian sunshine shows up a little on tracks like ‘Santa Cruz’ and ‘Longneck Way to Go’. Both have a western tinge – ‘Santa Cruz’ changes the mood of the album with its lighter touch and acoustic vibes whilst ‘Longneck Way to Go’ feels like the Laurel Canyon bands of the 70s jamming with Pardi and the boys from Midland on a rollicking Eagles-esque influenced track.

Special shout out must go to ‘Your Heart or Mine’ which is a darker, funkier song that someone like Jason Aldean would kill to record if he was brave enough to put fiddles in his songs! It’s an obvious potential single with its radio friendly chorus and fiery subject matter as a couple sing about ‘playing with fire’ because they keep ending up together despite their better intentions. It’s another example of Pardi’s ability to meld big melodies and more traditional sounds into these 3 minute nuggets of joy. The song should have a life for him outside this album if the label decide to go down that route.

‘Mr Saturday Night’ is the perfect fourth album from an artist that is ever-evolving and not afraid to tinker with his sound. Pardi is definitely putting himself ahead of a curve that is seeing mainstream Country swinging back round to more traditional sounds and because of that he should get some chart success over the lifecycle of this release. ‘Last Night Lonely’ has just hit number one in the charts this week so that chart success is already happening. Radio plays don’t equal real success though, do they? What Pardi has done fantastically well on ‘Mr Saturday Night’ is to provide a set of songs rooted in the traditional sound of the fiddle, guitar and piano whilst also throwing in elements of Texas, Nashville and California for good measure too. It makes for an interesting listen and the little touches of nuance and depth only serve to make this album all the more rewarding.

Track list: 1. Mr. Saturday Night 2. Fill ‘Er Up 3. Last Night Lonely 4. Neon Light Speed 5. New Place To Drink 6. Your Heart Or Mine 7. Santa Cruz 8. Longneck Way To Go 9. Raincheck 10. Workin’ On A New One 11. Hung The Moon 12. The Day I Stop Dancin’ 13. Smokin’ A Doobie 14. Reverse Cowgirl Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville (USA) Snakefarm (UK) Release Date: September 2nd Buy ‘Mr Saturday Night’ now

[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]

The post Jon Pardi – ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The day before the annual C2C: Country to Country festival was due to take place, I was supposed to be helping run the first two in-person events for Destination Country. Our vision when setting up the company was to bring Country music fans closer to the artists they love by offering them ‘money can’t buy’ in-person experiences. Unfortunately, we didn’t get chance to realise that and as the pandemic took hold, we pivoted to hosting regular online events with Country artists where fans could watch live performances, ask questions and interact via Zoom.

It was over the next two years that it quickly became apparent that we were fighting an uphill battle. We launched a subscription platform that initially had good take-up but soon tailed off. We saw the number of people attending our free events dropping, despite promotion from all of the Destination Country partner sites, the artists taking part and the wider Country music industry.

At this point you may well be wondering if this is a history of a business venture that didn’t achieve its aim, but it was the starting point where I, and my Destination Country partners, wondered if interest in Country music was on the wane in the UK? Or had we grossly over-estimated the appetite for the genre on this side of the pond?

Country music and the UK have a chequered history. The genre has never found its way into the mainstream like it has in the US and other parts of the world, save for the odd breakthrough like Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes in the 90s. That being said, since the arrival of C2C in 2013, the genre had steadily gained ground and that festival paved the way for more and more Country artists to come to the UK, often for the first time, as they realised that maybe there was an untapped market here after all.

Momentum was well-and-truly building by the time the pandemic halted everything. Alongside C2C there was also The Long Road Festival, Millport Country Festival (which celebrated its 25^th anniversary this year), Nashville Meets London, Tennessee Fields and Black Deer Festival, and artists were coming to the UK regularly. Some – Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Ashley McBryde, Midland, Carrie Underwood – had made the UK like a second home ensuring that we were on their regular touring schedule.

Fast-forward two and half years to August 2022 and it feels like the Country music bubble has well and truly burst in the UK. Despite a valiant effort Tennessee Fields called it quits earlier this year and the triumphant return of C2C across three days in March was marred in London by reports of violence and anti-social behaviour. As The Long Road prepares to welcome Country music fans this weekend, they’ve unexpectedly found themselves a headliner down after Chris Young pulled out due to COVID cases among his touring crew (and it should be mentioned that the UK tour he’d assembled around it appeared to be struggling to shift tickets with fans being able to pick them up at a heavily discounted rate of £6.50). If an act the calibre of Chris Young is struggling to sell tickets, then it doesn’t bode all that well for those artists who are earlier on in their careers.

It’s also notable that we’ve not had the usual influx of artists coming over since restrictions lifted. This may largely be due to a renewed focus on the US market where most Country artists make their money but it’s slightly worrying for us UK fans, especially as the UK has felt more like an afterthought for many Country releases the past couple of years.

So what could have caused the bubble to burst? There are many factors at play. Firstly, the pandemic ripped live music out of our lives for the best part of two years and that’s undoubtedly impacted on the momentum that was building. Secondly, we’re in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis so people are having to save money where they can. Concerts are seen as a treat or a luxury for most people, and with costs spiralling in recent years it’s no surprise that music fans are being choosy about who they see.

While those factors have no doubt played a big part in getting us to where we are now, it’s also entirely possible that the pool of high-profile artists in the genre who are willing to come to the UK has run dry meaning fans are tiring of repeat acts. The likes of Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and Tim McGraw have been here as part of C2C but none of them seem interested in trying to mount their own tours. Then you’ve got stars such as Blake Shelton, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi and Brooks & Dunn who’ve never set foot in the UK to play a show, and seemingly have no intention of doing so.

Another observation I’ve had from my time both working in Country music and being a fan, is that the UK Country music fanbase likes what it likes and doesn’t seem to have much interest in seeking out new artists. As much as complaints are rife about repeat artists on festival bills, they do sell tickets. Festivals like C2C and The Long Road are fantastic for seeing big names and discovering new talent, and that seems to be mostly where UK Country fans are finding out about emerging stars, but there is still a reluctance to buy tickets for those artists who are still working their way up the ladder.

Hopefully this is just a blip for Country music in the UK and the coming months will tell as C2C announces its 2023 line-up, and we expect other Country events to firm up dates and line-ups. This Country fan certainly hopes so but I just can’t shake the feeling that the genre might have gone as far as it can here for the moment, and what that means in terms of seeing live acts on this side of the pond remains to be seen.

The post Has the Country music bubble burst in the UK? appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The album is available for pre-order now and fans can listen to the title track at the top of this article.
 
Written by Benjy Davis, Reid Isbell and Joe Ragosta, ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ is a neon-tinged, quintessentially country play on words. The slow-rolling track juxtaposes the high-spirited life of the party, with the desolate guy who goes home to face what he’s lost.
 
“I feel like everybody wants to be Mr. Saturday Night at one point on the weekend and have a good time,” shares Pardi. “But then you hear the song and – the way it’s so well written – it’s a sad song, but you don’t go there right away, because it’s also a fun song. That’s the thing about ‘Mr. Saturday Night,’ it’s more than meets the eye. It’s all fun until you get to the chorus.”

‘Mr. Saturday Night’ is the follow-up to Pardi’s ‘Heartache Medication’. Pardi has teamed up with producers Bart Butler and Ryan Gore once again and the album includes the hit single ‘Last Night Lonely’.

The full track list for ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ is:
 
1. “Mr. Saturday Night” (Benjy Davis, Reid Isbell, Joe Ragosta)
2. “Fill ‘Er Up” (Jon Pardi, Ross Copperman, Brice Long)
3. “Last Night Lonely” (Jimi Bell, Joe Fox, Dylan Marlowe)
4. “Neon Light Speed” (Andy Albert, Josh Dorr, Paul DiGiovanni)
5. “New Place To Drink” (Jon Pardi, Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird)
6. “Your Heart Or Mine” (Bart Butler, Justin Ebach, John Pierce)
7. “Santa Cruz” (Jon Pardi, Luke Laird)
8. “Longneck Way To Go” (Midland featuring Jon Pardi) (Rhett Akins, Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Ashley Gorley, Mark Wystrach)
9. “Raincheck” (Will Bundy, John Edwards, Michael Tyler)
10. “Workin’ On A New One” (Jon Pardi, Rhett Akins, Luke Laird)
11. “Hung The Moon” (Will Bundy, John Morgan, Jameson Rodgers)
12. “The Day I Stop Dancin’” (Bart Butler, Justin Ebach, Josh Thompson)
13. “Smokin’ A Doobie” (Jon Pardi, Rhett Akins, Luke Laird)
14. “Reverse Cowgirl” (Zack Dyer, Joe Fox, Jared Scott)

The post Jon Pardi reveals track list for upcoming album ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

“A lot of time was spent living with the songs on this record,” shares Pardi. “There is more life experience on ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ than any album I’ve released before. I chose ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ as the title track because it’s special to me. I’ve been hanging onto it for three years and can’t wait for people to hear it, and the rest of these songs.”

‘Mr. Saturday Night’ is produced by Bart Butler, Ryan Gore and Pardi, the same team behind the boards of his critically acclaimed third studio release ‘Heartache Medication’, which was nominated for Album of the Year by both the CMA and ACM.

We were in Nashville last week and got the feeling that we will be seeing Pardi in the UK for the first time in 2023 to tie in with this release. In the meantime, Pardi is set to bring his fan-favourite hits and new music coast to coast on his ‘Ain’t Always the Cowby’ tour in the USA.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit jonpardi.com/tour.

Jon Pardi’s Tour Dates:

7/14 | Irving, TX/ Toyota Music Factory – Texas Lottery Plaza

7/15 | Belton, TX/Bell County Expo Center

7/16 | Oklahoma City, OK/Zoo Amphitheatre

7/22 | Sacramento, CA/Golden 1 Center

7/23 | Bend, OR/Hayden Homes Amphitheater

7/24 | Airway Heights, WA/Northern Quest Resort & Casino – Pend Oreille Pavilion 

8/4 | Inglewood, CA/YouTube Theater

8/5 | Santa Barbara, CA/Santa Barbara Bowl

8/6 | Las Vegas, NV/Red Rock Casino

8/19 | Lampe, MO/Black Oak Amphitheater

8/20 | Terre Haute, IN/ The Mill

8/25 | Raleigh, NC/Red Hat Amphitheater

8/27 | Sharpsburg, KY/Barnyard Amphitheater

9/8 | Rochester, MN/Mayo Civic Center Park

9/9 | Milwaukee, WI/BMO Harris Pavilion

9/10 | Sterling Heights, MI/Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre

9/15 | Bridgeport, CT/Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater

9/16 | Big Flats, NY/Summer Stage @ Tags

9/17 | Huber Heights, OH/Rose Music Center

9/22 | New York, NY/Pier 17- the rooftop

9/23 | Gilford, NH/Bank of NH Pavilion

9/24 | Boston, MA/Leader Bank Pavilion

9/29 | Southaven, MS/Landers Center*

9/30 | Huntsville, AL/Von Braun Center*

10/1 | Nashville, TN/Ascend Amphitheater* 

*Priscilla Block appearing in place of Hailey Whitters

The post Jon Pardi Announces new album ‘Mr Saturday Night’ release date appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Jon Pardi built on the buzz of his debut album Write You a Song, released in 2014, with the critically-acclaimed follow-up California Sunrise in 2016. Certified Platinum, California Sunrise spawned three Platinum singles in the shape of Head Over Boots, Dirt on My Boots and Heartache on the Dance Floor. With the album, Pardi moved further into his exploration of traditional Country sounds and it’s clearly a direction that’s working for him. His third album, Heartache Medication, comes this week and it’s a full-on traditional Country record.

Following the format that many artists are taking these days, Pardi has released a handful of tracks prior to the release of the full album. 5 of the album’s 14 tracks, including the title track which is the lead single, have been made available to stream and download giving fans a flavour of what to expect. Old Hat, one of the few songs that veers from the traditional Country sound, kicks off the album and it’s a surprisingly low-key opening. The song is perfectly listenable but it doesn’t reach the highs that Pardi is capable of.

The second track and lead single, Heartache Medication, is more like what you’ll expect from Pardi. The punchy beat combines with Pardi’s distinctive vocal for a slice of traditional Country music. It’s the kind of song that’ll get people dancing, pick up plenty of support from radio and go down a storm during a live show.

Across the album Pardi hits plenty of classic Country music tropes. There’s mentions of cowboys (Ain’t Always the Cowboy), alcohol (Me and Jack) and name-checking the Country greats (Call Me Country). While the lyrics may not be the most original, the instrumentation is impressive. Pardi really does transport you to a little Nashville honky tonk and those Country fans who are fed up of the current sound of modern Country will find a lot to enjoy here.

Lauren Alaina features on the stand out Don’t Blame It On Whiskey. I wouldn’t have thought of pairing her with Pardi as their voices are so different but it works well. In fact I’d be happy to hear more music like this from Alaina, that’s free from the heavier production her material often gets. Other standouts on the record include the rollicking drinking song Tied One On, the catchy midtempo Buy That Man a Beer, and the gorgeous ballad Love Her Like She’s Leaving.

At 14 tracks, Heartache Medication is a little over long meaning there are a couple of tracks that could have been trimmed from the track list. Nobody Leaves a Girl Like That gives in to the out-dated Country trope of praising a girl’s looks as a reason why a man would want to keep hold of her, while Tequila Little Time is a throwaway play on words that sticks out on the record.

Heartache Medication isn’t as instant as California Sunrise was and for me it’s not as strong a record. That being said, there are plenty of strong songs here and I’m glad Pardi is operating in his own lane. He’s developing a sound that pays homage to what’s come before but also works in the modern charts. Hopefully he’ll support this record in the UK with a tour so we can finally see him do his thing live.

Track list: 1. Old Hat 2. Heartache Medication 3. Nobody Leaves a Girl Like That 4. Ain’t Always the Cowboy 5. Me and Jack 6. Don’t Blame It On Whiskey (feat. Lauren Alaina) 7. Tied One On 8. Oughta Know That 9. Tequila Little Time 10. Buy That Man a Beer 11. Call Me Country 12. Just Like Old Times 13. Love Her Like She’s Leaving 14. Starlight Record label: Snakefarm Records Release date: 27th September 2019 Buy Heartache Medication

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With so many releases coming out each week, it can be hard to keep up but we’ve spent time reviewing all of the songs we’ve added to our playlists to see which ones we’ve been enjoying the most.

Our Top 10 includes established and emerging artists, with songs from across the entire spectrum of the genre.

Keep reading to find out which songs have made the cut…

10. Jennifer Nettles – I Can Do Hard Things

One of the most incredible vocalists in the genre today, Jennifer Nettles wowed us with the inspiring I Can Do Hard Things. Fighting back in a male-dominated industry, Nettles captures the realities of being a woman in the modern day. An anthem for women, I Can Do Hard Things contains a powerful message about battling through difficult times.

9. Caroline Jones – Chasin’ Me

Caroline Jones was a big hit at C2C: Country to Country back in March, where she previewed the gorgeous Chasin’ Me. Her beautiful vocals soar over the dreamy melody to create a gorgeous love song that’s so catchy, you can’t help but sing it once you’ve heard it.

8. Rob Mayes – Road With No Lines

Rob Mayes may be better known as an actor but that’s all set to change. Following the release of his debut Country single Closer, Mayes dropped Road With No Lines and we’ve been hooked ever since. Embracing Country tradition, the stirring ballad is moving, emotive and reflective, and most importantly incredibly honest.

7. Tenille Townes – I Kept the Roses

She’ll be back in the UK later this year but until then we’ll be listening to Tenille Townes’ I Kept the Roses on repeat. A timeless break-up ballad with a bluesy feel, I Kept the Roses showcases Townes’ distinctive vocal and her ability to take the listener on a journey with her.

6. Brooks & Dunn featuring Jon Pardi – My Next Broken Heart

Brooks & Dunn’s Reboot is one of the best album releases this year and honestly it was hard just selecting one track from the record to include here. We finally settled on My Next Broken Heart with Jon Pardi, a stomping classic Country track that perfectly unites two Country icons with one of the brightest stars on the modern charts.

5. Adam Hambrick – All You, All Night, All Summer

We’ve been fans of Adam Hambrick for quite a while and he was one of the highlights of C2C. His ability as a songwriter has been evident for some time (who doesn’t love Dan + Shay’s How Not To?) but his own material is even better. All You, All Night, All Summer is a driving rock-tinged Country gem that’s perfect for blasting out as you walk under the summer sunshine.

4. Midland – Mr Lonely

The wait has been a long one but when Midland dropped Mr Lonely, all was forgiven. Continuing to take inspiration from the Country greats, most notably George Strait, Midland have progressed the sound of On the Rocks and delivered one of the catchiest tunes of 2019. This one will be very popular at line-dancing events!

3. Maren Morris featuring Brothers Osborne – All My Favourite People

She’s released one of the best albums of the year so it’s no surprise that Maren Morris features on our Top 10. There were many contenders from Girl but All My Favourite People featuring Brothers Osborne is the standout. Perfectly combining Morris’ knack for a catchy melody with Brothers Osborne’s rock-tinged Country, All My Favourite People is a rousing sing-a-long anthem.

2. Lady Antebellum – What If I Never Get Over You

With a new label home, Lady Antebellum sound invigorated on What If I Never Get Over You, their first release for Big Machine Records. Capturing the classic sound the trio is known for, the song is layered with harmonies and tells a story of heartbreak that everyone can relate to. It’s their best single in years!

1. Kassi Ashton – Pretty Shiny Things

At a time when women are struggling to get support from Country radio in the US, Kassi Ashton released the most poignant song of the year. The rising star tackles the pressures faced by women who are told their looks are more important, and worth more, than their talent. Backed by an acoustic guitar, Ashton gives the year’s best vocal performance (so far) and she draw the pain from every single word she sings. Incredible.

What are your favourite Country songs of 2019 so far? Tweet us @efcountry or find us on Facebook @efcountry to let us know!

The post Top 10 Country songs of 2019 so far: Midland, Lady Antebellum and more appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Brooks & Dunn – Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn – are Country music royalty. They’ve scored 20 number one hits since 1991 and they’ve sold more records than any other duo in history. It’s been 12 years since Brooks & Dunn last release a studio album, 2007’s Cowboy Town, but their influence on the Country music genre is still as strong today as it always has been. Often name-checked by the current crop of Country artists, Brooks & Dunn have done something a little different for their latest album Reboot. Across the 12 tracks, the duo has collaborated with some of today’s biggest Country stars to reimagine some of their classic hits.

Reboot opens, appropriately, with Brand New Man. That song was Brooks & Dunn’s debut single and their first number one. For this new version, they’ve teamed up with Luke Combs who has had a pretty meteoric rise to the top of the charts himself in the past few years. Not much has changed with Combs on the track and his voice actually works nicely alongside the duo.

Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You is the next track and it features Brett Young. The song has echoes of the original but it’s got a much-more soulful edge. Young’s vocals are naturally more soulful and after opening the song, he brings out a soulful edge to Dunn’s voice that we’ve not heard previously. This version has been criticised by some people but I think it’s one of the most interesting moments on here.

The artists that Brooks & Dunn have chosen to work with is interesting. Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown are both included here, and both artists get a lot of flack for not being ‘Country enough’. Well if they’re Country enough for Brooks & Dunn, then nothing more needs to be said on that subject really does it? Rhett brings his soulful pop edge to My Maria, making the song feel a little more contemporary, while Brown shows he can do traditional on the stirring closer Believe.

The highlights on Reboot come thick and fast. My Next Broken Heart with Jon Pardi is a perfect collaboration for Brooks & Dunn, given that Pardi is one of the few modern Country artists making traditional Country music. Similarly Midland’s inclusion on Boot Scootin’ Boogie is a marriage made in heaven and it can be hard to tell where Midland ends and Brooks & Dunn begin. Kacey Musgraves produces a version of Neon Moon that incorporates shimmering beats that wouldn’t have been out of place on her award-winning album Golden Hour.

Elsewhere Brothers Osborne tear up Hard Workin’ Man, transforming it into a rockier affair and Ashley McBryde brings her emotive vocals to the gorgeous You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone. In fact the latter track makes me hope she does a Reba McEntire and sorts out a Las Vegas residency with them! The biggest surprise comes on Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up For Nothing with LANCO. If you’d played me that track without telling me who it was, I’d have no idea that it was LANCO. Brandon Lancaster’s vocals are really strong and LANCO brings a stomping urgency to the track.

Reboot is a unique celebration of an act that has enjoyed impressive longevity and left a long-lasting impression on Country music. In some ways you could see Reboot as Brooks & Dunn giving their stamp of approval to 12 of today’s Country artists but it also serves as a timely reminder of just what incredible artists they are. When C2C is putting together its legends wish list for the 2020 festival, I hope they’re considering Brooks & Dunn because that would be quite the coup.

Track listing: 1. Brand New Man (with Luke Combs) 2. Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You (with Brett Young) 3. My Next Broken Heart (with Jon Pardi) 4. Neon Moon (with Kacey Musgraves) 5. Lost and Found (with Tyler Booth) 6. Hard Workin’ Man (with Brothers Osborne) 7. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone (with Ashley McBryde) 8. My Maria (with Thomas Rhett) 9. Red Dirt Road (with Cody Johnson) 10. Boot Scootin’ Boogie (with Midland) 11. Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up For Nothing (with LANCO) 12. Believe (with Kane Brown) Record label: Sony Nashville UK Release date: 5th April 2019 Buy Reboot

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