Jon Pardi has become one of the leading lights of the neo-traditional revival in modern country since he broke through with ‘Head Over Boots’, from his 2016 sophomore LP ‘California Sunrise’ (named after his home state). Since then he’s racked up six number one singles on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and two more studio albums, most recently 2023’s ‘Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi’, as well as becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. UK fans have been clamouring for him to come over for years and now – having had to cancel his Long Road headline set last August – he’s finally crossed the pond for his Mr. Saturday Night World Tour, which wrapped up its UK leg last night at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Accompanied by his seven-piece band and clad all in black – complete with his trademark cowboy hat – Pardi took to the stage shortly after 9pm. Beginning with an electric guitar solo, he told the crowd that he’d been “trying to get here for four years” and was “gonna make up that time… are you ready?” The roar of approval he got in response sounded like a definite yes to me, and from there we were off to the races with ‘Paycheck’, from ‘California Sunrise’. The song had a rocky, anthemic feel that highlighted the drawl in Pardi’s vocal as he kicked up his boots and two-stepped across the stage, and also featured the first of many great guitar solos from band member Terry Lee Palmer. It was a fantastic start to the evening and fully set the tempo for the rest of the night.
Over the next two hours Pardi took us on a whistle-stop tour through his career, from ‘Up All Night’ with its namecheck for London and singalong chorus and the stomping, fuzzy ‘What I Can’t Put Down’ to more recent numbers like ‘Fill ‘Er Up’ – a rollicking barroom number he dedicated to ‘that friend who’s getting all the drinks in’ – and ‘Last Night Lonely’ which showed off the smoother side of his vocals. The crowd were in fine voice throughout, singing along at top volume the whole way through, and several times he looked surprised that they knew all the words, expressing his gratitude to them for coming out and how much of a great time he was having.
One thing which really stood out to me throughout the performance was how much of a consummate showman Jon Pardi is. Throughout the set he was tossing picks into the crowd (as well as the drumsticks he used on the outro of the rattling, fiery Johnny Cash-inspired ‘Me and Jack’), reaching down to shake audience members’ hands, noticing how many of them were sporting his merchandise, or leaning into their phone cameras as he sang – and in one case picking up someone’s phone and carrying it round on stage during ‘Your Heart or Mine’. He even encouraged one girl to chug a beer before his utterly perfect cover of Dwight Yoakam’s classic ‘Guitars, Cadillacs’ (and she got a T shirt for her efforts!). That connection with the crowd is absolutely something you can’t teach and it came across as completely genuine and engaging throughout.
I also really loved the sheer exuberance on display during the show. Even on slower numbers like the bittersweet barroom anthem ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ or ‘Tequila Little Time’, with its heavy horn layers that transport you to a beach bar in Mexico, Pardi looked like he was having a whale of a time, spinning and leaping around on stage, knocking over fans – the kind that cool you down not the audience members I should add – and sending large sections of the crowd wild with some of his dance moves (just call him Snakehips!). It was so much fun to watch him stamping and strutting about the stage, especially on the likes of his shouldn’t-work-but-did take on Rod Stewart’s ‘Hot Legs’ and the slinky ‘Cowboy Hat’, or leading his band in a line dance during ‘Beer Can’t Fix’.
That said, some of the highlights of the show came during the ballads, particularly the yearning, plaintive ‘Ain’t Always The Cowboy’ which gave Pardi the chance to hit some of the biggest notes of the night and ‘She Ain’t In It’, which was full of emotion and didn’t so much tug the heartstrings as yank them. I also really loved the sweet and tender ‘Starlight’, which Pardi dedicated to his late grandmother as the one who got him into country music, before he encouraged the crowd to light up the room with their phones.
After a playful rendition of ‘Dirt On My Boots’ – complete with audience members belting it out – Pardi encouraged the crowd to clap along on the swinging ‘Heartache Medication’, which featured a brilliant fiddle solo, before closing the main set with ‘Heartache On The Dancefloor’. The lively tune had the entire room dancing along and he whipped them up into a frenzy, twirling his microphone and pointing to the crowd as they sang along. He left the stage to thunderous whoops, cheers and applause before returning shortly for a three-song encore, asking the audience to “get loud” before he broke into a sultry performance of ‘Night Shift’ which featured a seriously impressive leap! Next came a bluesy, dramatic spin on the Righteous Brothers’ ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ which saw him drop to his knees and showcase the power in his voice, before wrapping things up with ‘Head Over Boots’. The disco ball lit up as he sang the joyful love song and it was an utterly magical moment. As the crowd rose to their feet to give him a standing ovation, he and his band took their bows to ‘I’ve Had The Time Of My Life’ before finally departing the stage.
It’s been a long time coming but the Pardi party was worth the wait. He had the crowd eating out of his hand from the off and absolutely dazzled with his dance moves, humour, high energy and big vocals, and his band was one of the tightest I’ve ever seen too. As one audience member I overheard on the way out described it, it was “one of the best shows I’ve ever seen”, and certainly a contender for my top performance of the year so far. If he’s not a C2C headliner – or a CMA Entertainer of the Year – in the next few years then I’ll eat my hat! In the words of the man himself as he left the stage, “can’t wait for the next time” …
Set list: 1. Paycheck 2. Mr Saturday Night 3. Tequila Little Time 4. Up All Night 5. What I Can’t Put Down 6. Fill ‘Er Up 7. Guitars, Cadillacs (Dwight Yoakam cover) 8. Your Heart or Mine 9. Last Night Lonely 10. Hot Legs (Rod Stewart cover) 11. Ain’t Always the Cowboy 12. Me And Jack 13. She Ain’t in It. 14. Can’t Turn You Down 15. Starlight 16. Beer Can’t Fix 17. Dirt On My Boots 18. Heartache Medication 19. Heartache On the Dancefloor Encore: 20. Night Shift 21. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling (Righteous Brothers cover) 22. Head Over Boots Performance date: 26th April 2024
