Five-time Billboard Country Airplay chart-topping artist Jon Pardi releases his new studio album, Honkytonk Hollywood, on Friday (April 11), as he gears up to launch his headlining Honkytonk Hollywood Tour in the United States later this month. But in March, the “Friday Night Heartbreaker” singer took his high-octane, neo-traditional country sound Down Under, giving Australian fans shows that previewed some of the songs on the new project.
The “Head Over Boots” hitmaker took his rowdy swagger and down-home grit to headlining shows at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena (on March 19) and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion (March 20), before playing a set during the Australian country music festival CMC Rocks on March 22. Newcomers Larry Fleet and Zach Top joined Pardi for his shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
Pardi’s shows are known for blending pulsating rock energy with plenty of fiddle and twang, while alternating hits like “She Ain’t In It” and “Dirt on My Boots” with Pardi’s accessible, good-time vibe, as he cracks jokes and offers up stories from his life. His new album, produced by Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town), further fuses the feel of his live shows and albums, as Pardi welcomed his band to join him in the studio to lay down the tracks, adding an extra shot of tightly-woven musicianship that comes through piling up years of road-tested camaraderie.
Below, find a photo gallery that highlights Pardi’s vibrant, packed-audience live shows, as well as behind-the-scenes pics of Pardi with show openers Top and Fleet backstage.
