It’s the day before the release of his third studio album, “Learn the Hard Way” and Jordan Davis is teetering between a state of excitement and anxiety. After two years of blood, sweat and tears, the album is finally about to be released into the world as the songs take on a life of their own, something that Davis is eagerly anticipating.
“It’s been the most fun I’ve had making music, and I think it’s the best record I’ve ever put together,” asserted Davis over Zoom whilst spending time in Los Angeles. “We make it for the fans so when you get to that day where you can bring it to them, it’s a pretty nerve-wrecking day.”
As he prepared for the album’s release, Davis was recently flicking through old notebooks and found early ideas and plans for “Learn the Hard Way.” The first note that the country singer-songwriter wrote was simply, “I want this record to be fun. I want to have fun writing the songs, recording the songs and performing the songs.”
This was an exciting creative challenge for Davis as it was the first album he had written with the live set in mind. He made it clear that he wanted his fans to come to his show and “forget about whatever they want to forget about for an hour and a half.”
Days after the release, his vision of an album crafted around a live set had finally come to life and he was reaping the fruits of his labor as he headed across the pond for a series of special concerts in London, England.
Davis has become one of the leading figures in the country music scene, which has experienced a global resurgence in recent years. The singer-songwriter has achieved eight number one singles on the country radio airplay charts, toured with Luke Combs and gained millions of fans around the world.
There is also another side to Davis, the family man, the husband and father — who, earlier this year, welcomed his fourth child.
In the past, the singer-songwriter has found it difficult to strike a balance between chasing the dream of becoming a country superstar and being a devoted father and husband.
As the title track suggests, this is something that he has had to “learn the hard way” and confront in this album.
“I got to check these things off that I never would have dreamed that I would have ever got to do and I’m super grateful for that,” said Davis. “But, with that, I really dove into music and I worked a lot and that arised the balance that I’m trying to find now with being a dad and being at home and still going after this thing that I’ve loved since I can remember, which is music. That has been a lesson that I’ve had to learn over the last couple of years and I’m still learning.”
He added: “I still love playing music and if I could, I’d be out every weekend. But, I also have a young daughter that’s getting older. She just started kindergarten yesterday and that’s my number one goal. [I want to be] present when I’m at home and really focus on making the time that I have at home special and then go out, work hard and go back home.”
In support of his latest album, Jordan Davis will hit the road for his biggest international tour to date, “Ain’t Enough Road” tour — which includes a headline show at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena.
The country star is excited to return to Illinois. His love and affinity for the state has grown in recent years but this started from an early age.
“I’m a Texas Rangers fan, but I have a soft spot for the Cubs because I grew up watching them on WGN. They always played afternoon games, so when I would get home from school, they were the only baseball games that were on, so I slowly started pulling for the Cubbies.”
Country has always had a dedicated fanbase across the U.S., but in recent years, there has been a noticeable resurgence across the globe. The likes of Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Zach Bryan have taken country music to new heights, selling out stadiums in different continents and selling millions of records.
“For me, it always starts with songwriters. That was the first thing that pulled me into it. There are some amazing songwriters in country music right now,” said Davis.
He added: “Obviously, there are great singers, but the first thing that’s going to grab anyone is the song and the lyrics. It’s healthy, so I really hope that is what’s grabbing people and how it’s been able to stretch as far as it’s stretching. It’s honest, it’s real and that’s one of the reasons (country) is as big as it’s ever been.”
“Ain’t Enough Road” tour is 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont; tickets from $51.35 at rosemont.com
Adam Davidson is a freelance writer.