We now know when Jon Pardi will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. The 38-year-old will become a member of the Grand Ole Opry on October 24, almost six months after he was invited to join by Alan Jackson, with a little help from Guy Fieri, while at Stagecoach.
“It was a great moment out and it was cool that it was at Stagecoach,” Pardi told Everything Nash at a recent media event, speaking of the invitation. “It’s one of my favorite festivals in country music. and it’s the biggest in California. Tying my home state to country music in Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, I thought it was really special, and I thought it was a look that nobody’s really seen. It gave the Opry a stronger connection with the crowd in the West Coast. They knew exactly what the Grand Ole Opry was. They went crazy. It was pretty cool.”
Pardi has been friends with Fieri for a long time, which is why it meant to much to him to have the Food Network star be part of his milestone invitation.
“When I first saw Guy on stage, I was like, ‘What the hell is Guy doing on stage? And how did he get a microphone?’” Pardi recalled. “Guy’s a good friend, and he was so excited. He knew about it for a long time. We’re buddies, and he never said anything.”
Pardi is currently enjoying a Top 10 hit with “Your Heart or Mine.” The song from his 2022 Mr. Saturday Night album, was written by Bart Butler, Justin Ebach, and John Pierce.
“The song talks about the push and pull in a relationship…to know if you should come back again, or wonder ‘is this gonna work out?'” Pardi previously told American Songwriter, explaining why he included the song on his record. “I want it to work out, but then it doesn’t work out. That feeling of the unknown that is a part of the attraction that brings you back for some reason.
“Musically, it has really cool chords and a really cool style to it,” he added. “I definitely wanted the claps and the drum tracks on it. The drums drive the song and you want to move with it and you want to flow with it.”
Tickets for Pardi’s Grand Ole Opry induction are available at Opry.com. Pardi will embark on his headlining Mr. Saturday Night World Tour later this month. Find music and tour dates at JonPardi.com.
