When you think of California country music, your mind automatically drifts to the late Buck Owens, father of the SoCal Bakersfield sound that Dwight Yoakam still champions.
Neo-trad country singer wants you to think a little more north, to the tiny town of Dixon, California, where he grew up a short drive from the state capitol of Sacramento.
On his just released fifth studio album 鈥淗onkytonk Hollywood,鈥 Pardi brings in a little 鈥淲est Coast country vibe鈥 to complement the twangy country that he鈥檚 hung his cattlemen crease-style cowboy hat on since 2014.
Neo-trad country singer Jon Pardi didn't make his just-released fifth album to move the needle on his music career. "I made this record because I needed this record," he said.聽
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 go too crazy, but, you know, it鈥檚 got a little more of a West Coast rock country vibe on this record with the traditional,鈥 he said during a mid-April phone call to talk about his Tucson Arena concert on Thursday, May 15.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 just got a good feel and it鈥檚 kind of how I think my country music is in 2025,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥楬onytonk Hollywood鈥 and it鈥檚 definitely got a little more rock and roll edge to it. But it鈥檚 also very hard roots of country music.鈥
The 17-track album takes Pardi all over the sonic map, from the country rocking 鈥淏oots Off鈥 and twangy 鈥淪he Gets to Drinking,鈥 with weepy fiddle and steel guitar; to the classic three-chord rocker 鈥淩ush鈥 and the toe-tapping Eagles-esque 鈥淗ey California,鈥 a poppy ode to Pardi鈥檚 native Golden State and the girl that got away.
This is arguably Pardi鈥檚 most accessible album for country fans that came into the genre on the wave of 2010s pop-country acts including Dan and Shay, Lady A and Florida Georgia Line.
The guitar riff opening 鈥淔riday Night Heartbreaker鈥 has flashes of 1980s synth-pop fused with soft rock, while 鈥淗ard Knocks鈥 takes a harder edge, with driving guitar and pulsating percussion. The daddy-daughter ballad 鈥淪he Drives Away鈥 will tug at the hardest daddy heart as his little girl says 鈥淚 do鈥 and drives away.
Even in the songs that lean more rock and pop, producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Amos Lee, Zac Brown Band) inserts a little twangy fiddle or steel pedal to remind listeners that Pardi鈥檚 Hollywood hasn鈥檛 forgotten its rural country roots.
And those roots are the dominant thread in 鈥淗onkytonk Hollywood,鈥 which celebrates the blue-collar tradition of 鈥淗e Went to Work,鈥 doles out advice to the woman who goes all in on in a 鈥淕amblin鈥 Man,鈥 begs the question 鈥淒on鈥檛 You Wanna Know鈥 what would happen if you stayed longer, and laments how 鈥渕isery and gin鈥檚 got me blending right in with an old Haggard song鈥 in this 鈥淏ar Room Blue.鈥
鈥淚t could be California country, it could be Nashville country. It鈥檚 kind of everything,鈥 said the 39-year-old father of two young daughters, ages 2 and 10 months. 鈥淲e just kind of made it so everybody gets a little bit everything on it.鈥
The album鈥檚 debut single 鈥淔riday Night Heartbreak,鈥 released last fall, peaked at No. 23 on Billboard鈥檚 country charts. The follow-up single, the sweetly sentimental 鈥淪he Drives Away,鈥 impacted radio in late March.
Ask where he hopes 鈥淗onkytonk Hollywood鈥 will take his career, and you can almost hear Pardi scoff.
He never thinks in those terms when it comes to making music. It鈥檚 never about No. 1 hits (he has four of them, BTW) or platinum records (sales of a million-plus).
鈥淲e were just making music that felt good,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 just made a record because I needed to make a record, like mentally, I really needed this record. And you just never know,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no, 鈥極h yeah, I鈥檓 gonna do this because this is gonna do this for me.鈥 I don鈥檛 think like that. ... I made this record because I needed this record, I needed these songs. I needed to sing these songs. I need to play these songs live.鈥
Pardi is bringing along country singers Corey Kent and Kassi Ashton to open the show at Tucson Arena, 250 S. Church Ave., beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday. Tickets start at $32 through .
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
