April is windy season, so between two extremely windy days there was a break in that wind in Southern New Mexico, and with that came Jon Pardi alongside special guests Kassi Ashton and Corey Kent to the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM. It was a sold-out crowd of cowboy hats, short shirts and boots. You could tell this was not the first time Jon Pardi at been to the PanAm Center, as many of the crowd had on Jon Pardi T-shirts and merch as they walked in the door.
Kassi Ashton opened the show. She is from California, Missouri, performing since 2017. She has just released her first album in 2024, tilted Made from the Dirt. And she is all that – her music is grassroots country style. She is right to the point and is proving to take the country music scene by storm. As a female artist, she is proving she has the guts and not afraid to get dirty.
Ashton performed her most popular song, “Drive Me Out of My Mind,” and songs from her new album, “Called Crazy” and the title song, “Made from the Dirt.” She was a great opener, getting the crowd pumped up and informing everyone that the night was a night to leave all your troubles at the door and party with her. Corey and Jon. I know when she was done, I wanted to go out and buy her new album.
You can find more information about Kassi Ashton at the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/KassiAshton
https://www.instagram.com/kassiashton
Corey Kent, who is from Texas but grow up in Bixby, Oklahoma, has been involved in country music since the age of 11. He has since than bounced around from Oklahoma and Tennessee aggressively hammering out his career. And then the pandemic hit – but that didn’t stop Kent from lining things up. So as soon as the world opened again, he hit the road and toured in Oklahoma and Texas, starting with playing in nightclubs and opening for many different artist. By 2022, he was hitting the Billboard charts with his song “Wild as Her.” Life just kept getting better for Kent. He has since released four albums, the latest of released in the fall of 2024.
He opened his performance with “Ain’t Going to Lie,” and then he also sang “ Ain’t My Day.” Singing about parties, women and good old country living is Kent’s style, giving us a good feeling when he was done. He also did a really great cover of Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova.” Kent kept the party energy going, pumping everyone up for headliner Jon Pardi. Kent showed us his many years of performing has helped him hold on to the crowd. It was the first time I had heard Kent, and after leaving the concert I looked him up.
My suggestion is look him up too – he can be found at all the usual sites, but here are a few that will help you zero in on his music.
https://linktr.ee/CoreyKentOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/CoreyKentOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/coreykent
The headliner, Jon Pardi from California, had the crowd up on their feet as soon as he hit the stage. There was a slight delay due to monitors and after a song he put down the guitar and sang. This tour is promoting his newest album, Honkytonk Hollywood, which is sixth album since starting in 2014.
He opened his performance with “Honkytonk Hollywood” and “Fill ‘Er Up.” Pardi also performed his first released single off the Honkytonk Hollywood album, “Friday Night Heartbreaker.” He also jumped around and performed his favorites, “Mr. Saturday Night” and “Last Night Lonely.” Between songs he liked to tell a little story, which set up into the next song. At the venue, anyone in the front was standing-room only, which turned into a dance floor. Pardi really wanted to keep that party feeling.
I would go a check out his links to find out what you have been missing. Here are a few links:
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