Jon Pardi fans woke up to a surprise on Friday when the singer released a new covers album, Rancho Fiesta Sessions, which was recorded at his home in Nashville and features eight songs Pardi has been inspired by and loves to perform. Covers include songs by country legends Merle Haggard and George Strait, as well as Pardi’s rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
“All these covers are of artists that I admire, and I look up to,” Pardi said in a statement. “There are all kinds of great names and styles of songs on here — from legends. I think the magic and the fun of it is all is in these eight covers of songs that I really like or grew up singing.” Rancho Fiesta Sessions, produced by Pardi, was recorded live during a one-night live jam session with Pardi and his touring band at the singer’s home, which he has named “Rancho Fiesta.”
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“It’s all my band on this whole album. We mainly did it to have fun and record, and it sounds like we’re in your backyard, playing for you,” he said. “I hope the fans really have fun when they listen to it, and they enjoy it and turn it up. This one was for the fans, to let them hear something different… songs you may have heard before but, haven’t heard them like this. It turned into something special because it’s a year where we are off the road, and we recorded it live in real-time, out at my house.”
The 35-year-old added that he was inspired to name the album after the place where it was made. “I nicknamed my place out here Rancho Fiesta because it was fun and sounded uplifting,” he said. “We recorded this at the shop out here and I thought it made sense to reference where the project was recorded.”
See the album’s tracklisting below and stream Rancho Fiesta Sessions here.
- “The Bottle Let Me Down” – As performed by Merle Haggard
- “Honky Tonk Man” – As performed by Dwight Yoakam
- “Right or Wrong” – As performed by George Strait
- “Marina Del Rey” – As performed by George Strait
- “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)” – As performed by Joe Diffie
- “Somebody’s Doin’ Me Right” – As performed by Keith Whitley
- “The Waiting” – As performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- “Nothing Compares 2 U” – As performed by Prince
