Singer-songwriter, Jon Pardi celebrated the release of his third studio album, Heartache Medication with a show at the historic Hammerstein Ballroom in the heart of New York City on Friday night. The 2017 CMA New Artist of the Year brought along fellow California-native and good friend, Tyler Rich.

As the floor was filling in for Jon Pardi, Tyler Rich entertained the crowd with a mix of tracks from his 2015 EP Valerie, his 2019 self-titled EP, unreleased songs and a variety of covers. Rich expressed that he has been to this venue before to see some of his favorite artists but there was no cooler feeling than performing on stage. He sandwiched a cover of Halsey’s “Without Me” in between his songs “11:11” and “Adrenaline” to start the show before playing a snippet of a slow, new song he did not reveal the name of. He followed that with an upbeat track in “Turn It Up.”

Rich, from Yuba City, California grew up just 55 miles from Pardi’s hometown of Dixon. Ironically, Rich’s uncle coached Pardi’s high school football team. Rich told him that the first time they met at a bar in Nashville. “And since that moment, Jon took me in as one of his best friends in Nashville and just showed me the entire town. And you guys bought tickets to support his new album that just came out but you did not just buy tickets to see one of your favorite country singers, you bought tickets (to see) a good-ass person; he’s one of the nicest guys I ever met.”

Rich then performed an unreleased song he has played at his shows before called “God Made You For a Small Town” which transitioned into a cover of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”. “Feels Like Home” came next, another unreleased track. He closed his set with his current single “Leave Her Wild” and his hit “The Difference”.

NYCountry Swag caught up with Tyler Rich just before he hit the stage at Hammerstein for a live swag session with the rising artist. Tune in below to catch his acoustic performance of “Leave Her Wild” and interview.

Jon Pardi came out on stage to a new song called “Oughta Know That”, the first of ten songs he performed Friday night off Heartache Medication. He ditched the guitar to sing “Night Shift” off his sophomore album California Sunrise. Pardi told us that he idolized traditional country artists growing up such as George Strait, Dwight Yoakam and Mark Chesnutt, who are never seen without their guitars. Just like his heroes, that was the last song of the night he performed without a guitar in his hands. “Up All Night” from his debut album, Write You a Song was next.

He then played two new songs in “Old Hat” and “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” then went back to older stuff in “Can’t Put Down” and “She Ain’t In It”. Pardi surprised the fans for his next song, “Tequila Little Time” when he brought out an entire mariachi band on stage to perform with him. The audience loved the twist.

Many people believe that country music and The Big Apple do not go together but ask any country artist and they’ll tell you New York has some of the best country fans out there. “They asked me, ‘why would I go to New York City for an album debut?’ Because New York City is awesome; they love country music!” He praised the crowd for the energy they were bringing so far.

After “What I’ve Been Drinking”, he played two more new songs in “Love Her Like She’s Leaving” and album’s lead single “Heartache Medication”. This made the fans rowdier than before. A couple of songs later, Pardi thanked them and country radio for making this next song, “Head Over Boots” number one and really giving him a voice in the industry.

“Me and Jack” is the story of his love/hate relationship with the whiskey. He displayed that story in cartoon form on the screen behind him as he performed the new tune. Another new one, “Tied One Up” was followed by his big hit “Heartache on the Dancefloor”. Pardi talked about how his grandparents were the ones who got him into country music. He dedicated his next song and the final track on the album, “Starlight”, to them. He ended his set with his boot-stomping number one single, “Dirt on My Boots”. Pardi introduced his band, took a bow then walked off stage, concluding the fun-filled, high-energy night, leaving the crowd of country music traditionalists very satisfied.

We’ve seen Pardi as a supporting act on tours with Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley in the past and if you thought he put on a good show then, you have to see him as a headliner. This Jon Pardi was even more animated on stage and even displayed a few dance moves that he’s kept hidden for us.

Pardi will continue the Heartache Medication Tour with special guest Riley Green starting with two sold-out shows at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Find out if he is coming to a city near you by heading to his website.

To keep up with Jon Pardi follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Heartache Medication is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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