Jon Pardi has been a staple of the country scene for almost a decade since his breakthrough sophomore album, ‘California Sunrise’ (named after his home state). Since then he’s racked up three more records, four Billboard Country Airplays number ones and become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He made his UK debut back in 2024 and has now returned to tour here once again, including headlining the first night of Highways Festival at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
After a specially curated 10 minute intro playlist, which included classics such as ‘Dust On The Bottle’ and ‘Fishing In The Dark’, Pardi arrived on stage with his band and kicked off with ‘Honkytonky Hollywood’, the title track of his most recent album. It’s a sun-soaked, classic rock-influenced number with a big soaring chorus and showcased his trademark drawl to perfection. He followed that with the swinging ‘Tequila Little Time’, which saw the crowd rise to their feet and stay there for the rest of the night.
The setlist ran the gamut from Pardi’s brand new single, ‘How Did You Know’ (one of three new tracks on the 10th anniversary deluxe edition of ‘California Sunrise’ out next month) and ‘Honkytonk Hollywood’ tracks like the sultry ‘Friday Night Heartbreaker’, to cuts from his debut LP ‘Write You A Song’ such as ‘Up All Night’, which he mashed up with Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’. I particularly loved his take on Keith Whitley’s ‘Somebody’s Doing Me Right’, a hopeful love song which slotted into the set as perfectly as if he’d written it himself.
Pardi also mentioned that he’d been doing some research on which of his songs were popular here, which led to a rendition of the lively ‘When I’ve Been Drinking’ and ‘Can’t Turn You Down’. The audience absolutely loved this and it led to the first of many ‘Pardi, Pardi, Pardi!’ chants of the evenings. Another highlight for me was ‘Beer Can’t Fix’, his collaboration with Thomas Rhett, which saw band leader Terry take over the middle part of the song before Pardi and his band two-stepped across the Royal Albert Hall stage. They all looked like they were having a whale of a time and their joy was just infectious.
One thing which stood out to me was the sheer diversity of Pardi’s catalogue. He’s able to turn his hand to anything, whether it was a bittersweet barroom ballad like ‘Mr Saturday Night’ or ‘Raincheck’, the slinky ‘Cowboy Hat’, or punchy, playful songs such as ‘Your Heart Or Mine’ or ‘Last Night Lonely’ with its anthemic chorus. However, he particularly shone on the wistful ‘Starlight’, a tribute to lost loved ones which saw the audience light up the room with their phones, as well as the yearning of ‘Ain’t Always The Cowboy’ and ‘She Ain’t In It’. There’s a real depth and richness to his voice that these songs draw out and it was very impressive.
Pardi closed out the night with a run of hits that got the crowd singing and clapping along, from the cheeky ‘Boots Off’ and the uptempo ‘Dirt On My Boots’ to a rollicking rendition of ‘Heartache Medication’. That then led to ‘Night Shift’ – which drew roars and whoops from the audience before they belted out the song – and ‘Heartache On The Dancefloor’, before closing with his signature song ‘Head Over Boots’. You could practically feel the roof lift off the building with the force of the singalong, and the grin on his face as he held his guitar aloft at the end before walking off stage showed what a great time he’d had.
At the start of his set, Pardi informed the crowd that “it’s my job to make sure you have a good time” and he absolutely delivered. He’s a fantastic performer with great on-stage energy and a musical catalogue that feels timeless and classic. It’s a real treat to have him back in the UK and I’m keeping everything crossed that he heads back to this side of the pond again soon (maybe as a C2C headliner? You never know…)
Setlist: 1. Honkytonk Hollywood 2. Tequila Little Time 3. Up All Night / Three Little Birds (Bob Marley cover) 4. Mr Saturday Night 5. Raincheck 6. Your Heart Or Mine 7. How Did You Know 8. Friday Night Heartbreaker 9. Somebody's Doing Me Right (Keith Whitley cover) 10. Last Night Lonely 11. When I've Been Drinking 12. Can't Turn You Down 13. Ain't Always The Cowboy 14. She Ain't In It 15. Cowboy Hat 16. Beer Can't Fix 17. Boots Off 18. Dirt On My Boots 19. Heartache Medication 20. Night Shift 21. Heartache On The Dancefloor 22. Head Over Boots Performance date: 15 May 2026
Review written by Laura Cooney
Jon Pardi’s new album, ‘California Sunrise (10th Anniversary Edition)’, is due for release on 12 June 2026 on MCA Nashville/UMG Recordings.
See Jon on tour in the UK this May:
5/16/26 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
5/19/26 – Newcastle, UK – City Hal
5/20/26 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
5/23/26 – Belfast, N.I. – Waterfront Hall
