Jon Pardi Talks Touring And Tacos With KC Before Kicking Off 2024 Tour

This has been a truly busy summer season for country star Jon Pardi. Just barely a month after he and his wife, Summer, welcomed their new daughter Sienna into the world, Jon is getting back on the road for his Mr. Saturday Night Tour. If that weren't enough, Jon Pardi's newest single, Friday Night Heartbreaker, is set to release on Friday, September 6.

With all of that going on in the life of Jon Pardi, you can imagine my shock when he took some time out of his hectic schedule to call in to the BIG 95.7 KML studio for a chat with yours truly.

Given how busy Jon's life has been lately, I felt it was only right to start the call with a mental health check-in. He assured me that life was good, and that he still had "a full head of hair" under his signature cowboy hat.

"Everything's great, man. We got two healthy babies, and Summer is Super Mom," said Jon as he went into detail about home life. The self-anointed full-time girl dad also summarized his experience with their new baby in succinct fashion. "Sienna's the newborn, and she's just eating and pooping and sleeping. Baby stuff."

Of course, the intrepid country crooner is no stranger to balancing family time with his career on the road. "I'm always on tour...I've been touring for 12 years nonstop. It's just a way of life now."

When I asked Jon how he stays sane amidst all the travel in between shows, he revealed that his outlets mainly revolve around working out, staying healthy, and catching up on sleep. Though perhaps his biggest source of comfort while on the road, as he admits, is Mexican cuisine.

"I just got to stick to Mexican food. You give me a good burrito and a good taco, that's all I go to." I assured him that North Carolina certainly has no shortage of primo Mexican spots for when his tour rolls through Wilmington on November 1 (click here for tickets). The tour was originally supposed to start in Wilmington on September 6, but illness caused a postponement.

Jon Pardi's impressive staying power in the live concert circuit can be heavily attributed to his versatility on stage. Throughout his career Jon has played as both an opening act and a headliner, but when asked which position on the show he prefers, Jon surprised me with his candid response.

"I love a good hour opening slot. We opened up for Morgan [Wallen] this year and that was so fun. The whole audience was there and it was freaking awesome!"

But make no mistake, Jon Pardi has promised concertgoers a lively, thrilling show at the Live Oak Bank Pavilion for his headline tour, which kicked off earlier this week. "It's gonna be a high-energy, fun tour. I'm excited for it!"

The Mr. Saturday Night Tour will feature songs from his 2022 album of the same name, including his hit singles Last Night Lonely and Your Heart Or Mine.

Along with hits from the album, Jon also teased new music that he's working on, new doubt in reference to his upcoming single Friday Night Heartbreaker. While the new song does release on the same day as his show in Wilmington, he unfortunately could make no promises that the song would be presentation ready for a live performance by then.

Touring with Jon are the exuberant Priscilla Block and the flashy country upstart Meghan Patrick, both of whom were advertised to open the show in Wilmington on Friday. It's unclear if they'll be at the rescheduled show in November. With how long Jon Pardi's been at this, I asked if he considered himself a mentor to those he tours with, which he answered with extreme humility and tact.

"I'm always down to help out...it's just about talking. That's more important than answering questions." Jon also opened up about how much solidarity he finds in talking with artists that he brings on his tours. "You live in this world that you can only talk to artists about how it feels to be an artist...I truly love talking to them."

For Jon Pardi, the person who served as a mentor and friend for him in his early days was fellow country star Luke Bryan, who took Jon under his wing on many of his tours through the years. "I love Luke. He’s such a great guy, and he’s always been really open to me when I was a young artist," he told me. "He has a great family, I love his wife. I’ve spent so much time off stage with him, he’s just a true friend...” 

But of course, Jon did mention a source of tension in his ongoing bromance with Luke. "When it comes to sports, Luke better look out. That's when the real crap-talking comes out. If you say one thing bad about his Georgia Bulldogs, you're on the bad list!"

I had such a great time talking to Jon Pardi ahead of both his big headlining tour and the release of his new song, and I can't wait to see him live in concert for the first time in my country radio career.

Listen to my full interview with Jon Pardi here:

The 2024 edition Stars & Guitars show is coming to Fayetteville this November 11, and KML wants to make sure you get tickets so you don't miss the show.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, August 30 starting at 9:30 a.m. in person, and 11 a.m. online. 

There will be a limited presale on Thursday, August 29 online only. Presale begins at 10 a.m. Click here for more info.

And of course, we will have all of our special Stars & Guitars Ticket Stop events starting on Saturday, September 7, and running all the way until the weekend before the show. You can win your way into the show at these events.

With the lineup we have this year, you do not want to miss this show. Seriously, find a way to get tickets.

So, here's a look at all the ways you can get tickets for the Stars & Guitars show in Fayetteville on November 11.

We are proud to partner with the Crown Coliseum to bring you the country concert event of the YEAR!

Tickets for the show go on sale at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, August 30. You can get your tickets starting at 11 a.m. at CrownComplexNC.com or in the Ticketmaster site or mobile app. Note, that if you do buy your tickets online, or in the app, additional fees will apply. There are NO additional fees if you buy your tickets in person at the Crown Complex box office.

You can also join us for our on-sale ticket party at the Crown Coliseum on Friday, September 1 at 9 a.m. We'll be out there to celebrate with you, as you get your tickets to the show.

TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED IN PERSON 90 FULL MINUTES EARLY AT 9:30 A.M. ON FRIDAY! Online sales will not begin until 11 a.m.

Tickets purchased in person won't have the same online ticket fees, and can be purchased any time the Crown Complex Box Office is open. So you don't have to come to the party on Friday, but we'd love to see you if you can!

UPDATE: This sold out in 3 minutes! Wow! We love our KML Family.

We are once again giving members of our free All-Access Club first shot at tickets to the show. AND we're giving you a discount!

A LIMITED number of pre-sale tickets will be available only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, August 30! You can get your tickets at CrownComplexNC.com or in the Ticketmaster site or mobile app (search WKML in Ticketmaster). Pre-sale tickets will NOT be available at the box office, and can only be purchased online. (All online ticket purchases are subject to additional processing fees beyond our control.)

BUT, you will need the pre-sale code, and the only way to get that is to already be signed up for our free All-Access Club emails. If you are, CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR THE CODE THURSDAY MORNING!

If you don't get the email, CLICK HERE TO CHECK THIS PAGE THURSDAY MORNING!

One of our favorite ways to connect with all of you is through our Ticket Stops!

We've got a whole bunch of Ticket Stops scheduled throughout the next couple of months, and you can come out to any (or all!) of them and enter to win tickets. One of the best things about these stops, is that you do NOT have to be present to win. So if you can only swing by quickly to get your name in, that's totally OK!

One returning element for this year, will be our VIP Experience contest. You DO need to be present to become qualifiers. At every ticket stop, someone who is present at the end when we draw, will become a qualifier for a shot at front-row seats, VIP passes, and an autographed poster.

Here's the complete schedule of Ticket Stops FOR NOW! Keep in mind, we will be adding a whole bunch of these as we go, so bookmark the page and check back often.

A REMINDER for this year: All of our Ticket Stop entries will be ELECTRONIC only. You must have your phone with you to enter, and you'll need to have location services turned on. See a KML Team Member at each event if you need help.

KML is so proud to be playing all of our great Stars & Guitars artists on the station, and what better way to get tickets to the show than to listen and win!

We'll have opportunities all the way up until show day for you to listen and win on The Big 95.7 on your radio, or for free on our website or all-new mobile app.

Want to enter for a shot at a pair of Stars & Guitars tickets for LIFE! More info on this opportunity coming soon.

Starting in late September, you can head over to J.R. Furniture at 3421 Murchison Road, and find the poster to enter for Stars & Guitars FRONT ROW tickets, and a pair of his and hers recliners!

We've done about all we can think of to make sure you are fully equipped to learn about the amazing experience of Stars & Guitars, and to find a way to get tickets.

Here's a bunch of the resources available, in case you missed them elsewhere on the site: