If you haven’t caught Jon Pardi live in concert, go check him out – you won’t be disappointed. The California troubadour enjoys putting his ideas to music, as well as transferring those ideas to song in the studio, but his ultimate enjoyment comes from being on stage and entertaining the crowd. “You know, people jump off buildings for an adrenaline rush. I get up onstage for it, and it’s always exciting,” says Jon. “Sometimes I’m nervous, but it’s more exciting nervous, because you just want to get out there and you just want to make ‘em scream and like your songs or just play ‘em a song they like.”
Most of the time when he and his band, The Allnighters, hit the stage, they pretty much throw the set list out the window, especially if he feels the crowd would benefit. “For the most part, I like to read the crowd, so we may have a set list, and I may be like, ‘No, we can’t do this song. It’s not gonna work, and then we’ll call something else,’” he says. “It’s all about reading the crowd. You want to entertain them.”
Jon, whose debut single “Missin’ You Crazy” is currently climbing the country charts, is set to perform at the fifth annual Capitol Street Party October 17th. In the meantime, you can catch him in Pensacola Beach, Florida (September 23rd), Atlanta, Georgia (September 26th) and Statesboro, Georgia (September 27th). For more information on Jon and his tour dates, go to jonpardi.com.
AUDIO: Jon Pardi talks about having a set list and reading the crowd.
Jon Pardi (performing live) OC: …feel bored. :32
“Well, it depends on the time of your set, but if we’re playing over three hours, there ain’t no set list. We’re just calling out songs we know. But if it’s 20 minutes or so, it’s more or less, ‘Oh, we got 20 minutes, let’s try to sneak in as many songs as we can in 20 minutes.’ So, that’s when you gotta like back-to-back start the songs, have your talk points. But for the most part, I like to read the crowd, so we may have a set, set list, and I may be like, ‘No, we can’t do this song. It’s not gonna work, and then we’ll call something else.’ It’s all about reading the crowd. You want to entertain them. You don’t want to make them feel bored.”
AUDIO: Jon Pardi says his energy and “adrenaline rush” come from performing live.
Jon Pardi (performing live) 2 OC: …and it’s fun. :21
“You know, people jump off buildings for an adrenaline rush. I get up onstage for it, and it’s always exciting. Sometimes I’m nervous, but it’s more exciting nervous, because you just want to get out there and you just want to make ‘em scream and like your songs or just play ‘em a song they like. It goes a long way, and it’s fun.”
