Originally from Queensferry in Scotland, Jordan Harvey grew up listening to the likes of Johnny Cash and Kenny Chesney at his grandad’s garage before making the move to Nashville to embark on his musical career.
After playing at honky tonks around the city he joined the band King Calaway, opening for Garth Brooks and performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Today, The Kelly Clarkson Show and Neighbours. He released his debut solo EP ‘It Is What It Is’ earlier this year and has since been out on tour in the US as well as playing at The Long Road Festival here in the UK and opening for Eli Young Band in Glasgow and London.
Whilst he was at The Long Road, I caught up with Jordan to talk about his festival experience, the response to the EP so far, playing the Grand Ole Opry and CMA Fest, what’s next for him and more.
Welcome to the festival!
Thank you very much. It’s good to be back in the UK.
How have you been finding it so far?
It’s good. I’ve only been here for a few hours, but honestly I don’t know if it’s Shrove Tuesday or Sheffield Wednesday because I’ve felt like I’ve slept about three hours in the last two days! [laughs]
You were last over in the UK at the end of 2022 – what’s been happening for you since then?
Honestly I’ve been busy. I’ve been on radio tour out in the US, I’ve a single out over there right now [‘Along For The Ride’] and I’ve just been non-stop touring and writing and playing. It’s been amazing. It’s been awesome. I’m just about to embark on a three month tour with Niko Moon back in the US which is gonna be great. So yeah, honestly, keeping busy and all the time just… I’m working on a new record right now, which is really great.
Are there any songs you’re particularly enjoying playing live at the moment?
You know, I love playing the single. I mean, ‘Along For The Ride’s always awesome, but a few new ones I really like playing just now. It’s always different, innit? It depends what the crowd is. If the crowd’s a listening crowd then I kind of like playing ballads a bit more, and if it’s a crowd that’s up for getting stuck in then I’ll play uptempo stuff. So it varies. I played the stage earlier and it was good. I mean it was a pretty balanced crowd so it was nice to play some ballads early on. But hoping it’ll be a bit rowdier later and I can play a bit more uptempo stuff.
You released your EP ‘It Is What It Is’ earlier this year – how have you found the fan reaction to that has been?
Yeah, it’s been great, honestly. I mean, it’s streamed well, it’s done well and it’s done everything I could have asked for for a debut introduction for an artist. I’m really proud of it. I think what it did best was it introduced me, but coming off the back of this I was able to gauge what people liked and what people didn’t like. Like I say the reaction was very very positive, but now working on a new record and new music I’m just so excited because the best of me is yet to come. I feel like what people are gonna hear next year they’re gonna be really really excited.
Can you tell us any more about the new project yet? Will it be a similar sound to the EP or completely different?
Nah, totally different! Artists evolve, some more than others, and for me I played a role in my first record where I tailored it very much to country radio. I paid a lot of diligence to the genre of country music and I love country music, I’m very very inspired by country music. But I can’t also hide the fact that in my household I was listening to The Boss, I was listening to The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac and Bryan Adams and all that music. It’s ingrained in me. I have friends that are from Texas and they just say country music just bleeds out their skin, because it’s true, that’s all you’ve been exposed to. Whereas now I’ve got to put my influences in this record. So this record is a lot bigger than the first one.
You’ve mentioned the Niko Moon tour coming up and have been playing with Eli Young Band in the UK recently as well. What’s a typical Jordan Harvey live show like?
I mean it’s high energy. It’s fun, it’s fast and it’s very interactive. I love talking to the crowd, I love having a laugh. So yeah, just buckle in, it’s a good time!
You also recently made your Grand Ole Opry debut – how was that?
It was awesome! It was great having my family – my mum and dad were there, my brother was there. So yeah, it was awesome. It was great to have everyone there and support me, so a true honour playing the Opry. It’s a great place.
I know you wore a kilt on stage as well…
Well I mean, I had to! I’ll always wear a kilt whenever I play the Opry. It’s something that people love to see and I’m probably the only person that can pull it off over there right now [laughs]. So yeah, next time I go back, we’re looking at going back again in the next few months and I’ll definitely wear the kilt again.
You’ll have to make it a tradition now!
Absolutely. I’m not playing that place without wearing a kilt. Ever! [laughs]
You played at CMA Fest in June as well – what was that like?
I mean it was great. I played the Hard Rock Stage there, did some other side stages, and again a lot of fun. It’s early for me right now. It’s early stages and it’s great to get out there and meet new people and meet people that have heard the music. So it’s early days but I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given.
Tell us about the Dunk Tank you did with Restless Road there…
I haven’t spoke to the Restless Road boys since! [laughs] I didn’t really know what a dunk tank was, and then when I saw the boys… I’m only joking, I love the boys, but they owe me one [laughs]. They got me into the tank and Garrett dunked me within a second, and I was like, “Colton and Jack, if you ever come near this tank you’re dead!” And all three of them dunked me. So they are, they’re all dead to me [laughs].
You’ve mentioned the new music – is that the main focus for the next few months or so?
Growing my social media audience and working on new music behind closed doors is absolutely the goal over the next six months.
And lastly – have you got plans to come back to the UK after this trip?
Tentatively. Management is working on that just now. It’s definitely gonna happen but ultimately I think I wanna come back to the UK when I can come out off the back of this new record. Because I’m so excited about what’s going on on this record and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. It’s all top secret right now, but I’m working hard and it’s gonna be the best record I’ve ever made by a landslide.
Jordan Harvey’s latest EP, ‘It Is What It Is’, is out now on This Is Hit/Broken Bow Records/24 Entertainment.
