Clint Black and Jon Pardi have a new duet, out now. The country music legend and the reigning hitmaker released “Killin’ Time” together. The song is the title track, and second single, from Black’s 1989 debut album.
“This year marks 35 years since my album ‘Killin’ Time’ debuted, and I am having the pleasure of seeing fans night after night on our 35 Years of Killin’ Time Tour singing right along with us,” Black says. “There is nothing more fulfilling for a songwriter than knowing your music has had an impact. And now, to have my new pal Jon Pardi invite me up to celebrate this song with him in front of the CMA Fest crowd is one of the highlights of the year for me.”
Pardi is also hard at work on another album, the follow-up to Mr. Saturday Night, which came out in September of 2022. The 39-year-old has already penned plenty of songs for the record, which he hopes to release soon.
“We’re starting to write. I call them ‘song starters,’ things that I can bring to co-writes … and I’m listening to outside songs, which I love hearing and recording what songwriters are writing,” Pardi reveals on Audacy’s Totally Private. “I had a great meeting with my publisher, Sony. We had like 100 writers on this Zoom call, and I got on there and told them what I was feeling.”
His upcoming project will be Pardi’s fifth, but he hints that fans shouldn’t expect the record to be like any of his previous ones.
“I’m not going a different direction, but I’m going to do something fresh,” Pardi explained. “I’m going to work with a guy that I’ve never got to work with, somebody I look up to in the producer world, Jay Joyce. He’s the guy that’s got something special, and us coming together with the right songs, I feel like is going to be real special. He’s excited, I’m excited.”
Pardi has plenty of concert dates on the calendar for the remainder of the year, including shows on his Mr. Saturday Night Tour. But his favorite place to play remains the Grand Ole Opry, especially since he was inducted last October by Garth Brooks.
“The Opry, they’re only going to get bigger and bigger and bigger,” Pardi shared with Everything Nash and other outlets during a recent media event. “They’re doing a great job. They’re bringing in members that come earlier and just, they know what they’re doing more than ever now. I really feel like it. But regardless of that, it really felt like family when you become a member. It’s a home to country music. It’s a home, and it’s the backstage that’s the feeling. We love jamming there … It’s a wonderful thing.”
Find all of Pardi’s music and upcoming shows at JonPardi.com. The CMA Fest TV special is streaming now on Hulu.
