Jon Pardi Hopes To ‘Lift Up’ California With New Album

Jon Pardi has announced his upcoming fifth studio album, Honkytonk Hollywood, slated for release on April 11. The 17-track album's title track, “Honkytonk Hollywood,” sets the mood. A press release calls it "a grits-and-glitz tribute to the dual nature of Pardi’s life and mindset."

Jon said of the new project, “All my albums have been rock and roll with a country flare – this one keeps on rockin’. It’s also the most grown-up record I’ve ever made, all my soul basically."

He added, "Honkytonk Hollywood is for the Nashville that’s in my blood, and it’s also a nod to my California roots. And right now, more than ever, I hope it’s a way to honor and lift up the people of my home state."

Enlisting Jay Joyce for the first time as producer and stepping away from the traditional Nashville recording system, Pardi spent three weeks in the studio, building each track with his touring band handling the vast majority of the recording. Of the seventeen songs, the track “Hey California” cruises down a Sunset Strip of ‘70s-style studio-rock sophistication – complete with vocal stacks and guitars.

Jon concluded of the album, “We did what we wanted, and it stands out because of it. Taking the chance paid off, and I kind of want to keep it that way.”

Pardi is a California native, and his immediate family still lives in the area where he grew up in Dixon, California. He told me in an interview when he first came out and started to pop in Nashville that he loves writing songs that are based on true stories and reflecting on where he comes from. Jon also holds the distinction of being the only native Californian to become a member of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.

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