Jordan Davis shared how a shift in his path ended up being a game-changing moment in his career.

Davis went from writing songs with other artists in mind, to deciding, “you know what, I’m just going to write songs the way I write them and they come out. And I was a fan of R&B, southern rock, and just kind of started blending those worlds together.” That’s when Davis started going to meetings with record label officials, and considered his path as an artist (though he’d “never played a show” at the time).

“The first show I ever played, it was a four-hour gig,” he remembered.

Davis, who went from bartending to music, caught up with Scott Lipps when he appeared on a recent episode of Lipps Service (the first country artist to appear on the podcast). The Louisiana-born singer-songwriter reminisced on his appreciation for music growing up, his first record deal, how he learned to perform in front of crowds, the inspiration behind his award-winning single with Luke Bryan (“Buy Dirt”) and more. Lipps notes of the podcast episode:

“Jordan’s newest album, Learn The Hard Way, was just released, and it features other amazing country artists, such as Marcus King on the track 'Louisiana Sticks.' Jordan’s gearing up for his upcoming headlining tour, and he’ll be on the road playing hit venues like Red Rocks and Wembley Stadium. The conversation kicks off with how country music is becoming more mainstream, with artists such as Post Malone and Lana Del Rey coming into the scene. He also reflects on the music legends who’ve inspired him, such as John Prine, Jason Isbell, Smashing Pumpkins, and Tom Petty. Jordan talks about what it was like growing up in Louisiana with musicians in his family, and explores how country music impacted his musical upbringing. Jordan also highlights the new record and what it’s like playing large shows at venues like Radio City Music Hall. He talks about his song with Marcus King and how they added new elements into the track. The conversation closes with Jordan listing his top 5 podcast series, his favorite new country artists, and his favorite burger spots in the US.”

Find the full episode on iHeartRadio here.

Davis debuted Learn The Hard Way last month. The 17-track record includes “Bar None,” “Mess With Missing You” with Carly Pearce, “Ain’t Enough Road,” “I Ain’t Sayin,’” “Louisiana Stick” with Marcus King and more:

Learn The Hard Way Tracklist:

“Her Way Or The Highway” (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Travis Wood, Josh Jenkins, Mark Holman)
“Bar None” (Lydia Vaughan, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson)
“Mess With Missing You” with Carly Pearce (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Travis Wood, Hillary Lindsey)
“In Case You Missed It” (Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Travis Wood)
“Ain’t Enough Road” (Jordan Davis, Luke Dick, Ashley Gorley)
“Son Of A Gun” (Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Kerr, Lauren Hungate)
“Jesus Wouldn’t Do” (Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins)
“Learn The Hard Way” (Paul DiGiovanni, Jon Pierce, Travis Wood)
“I Ain’t Sayin’” (Travis Wood, Steve Moakler, Mark Holman, Emily Reid)
“Good Gone Bad” (Jordan Davis, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill )
“Memory Don't Mess Around” (Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins)
“Keeping The World Away” (Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins)
“Know You Like That” (Ray Fulcher, Thomas Archer, Jordan Rowe, Michael Tyler)
“Only All The Time” (Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Travis Wood, Mark Holman, Matt Roy)
“Turn This Truck Around” (Jordan Davis, Devin Dawson, Jake Mitchell, Josh Thompson)
“Louisiana Stick” with Marcus King (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Ashley Gorley)
“Muddy The Water” (Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins)

“The middle children out there can probably relate to learning things the hard way. For me, it’s following my brother around and basically doing whatever the total opposite of whatever he did. And when you do that, you’re bound to learn a few lessons the hard way,” Davis said in the official album trailer. “I think, for me, my biggest fear is making the same record or not growing or not becoming a better writer, not pushing the boundaries when it comes to recording songs. I truly hope that people that hear this record can hear that, that we did something different. We took some chances. We changed things up in the studio. We approach songwriting differently. We tried to make something that we haven’t done before. I honestly think we did it.”

Davis is getting ready to kick off his headlining “Ain’t Enough Road Tour” dates. See his list of tour stops below.

Ain’t Enough Road Tour Dates

Thursday, September 11, 2025 – Greater Palm Springs, CA - Acrisure Arena

Friday, September 12, 2025 - Concord, CA - Toyota Pavilion at Concord

Thursday, September 18, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre

Friday, September 19, 2025 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Friday, September 26, 2025 - Independence, MO - Cable Dahmer Arena

Saturday, September 27, 2025 - St. Louis, MO - Chaifetz Arena

Thursday, October 2, 2025 - New York City, NY - Radio City Music Hall

Friday, October 3, 2025 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Thursday, October 9, 2025 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena

Friday, October 10, 2025 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena

Saturday, October 11, 2025 - Milwaukee, WI - BMO Pavilion

Thursday, October 16, 2025 - Dayton, OH - Wright State University Nutter Center

Friday, October 17, 2025 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center

Thursday, October 23, 2025 - Duluth, GA - Gas South Arena

Friday, October 24, 2025 - Savannah, GA - Enmarket Arena

Saturday, October 25, 2025 - Estero, FL - Hertz Arena

Friday, February 20, 2026 - Belfast, Northern Ireland - SSE Arena

Sunday, February 22, 2026 - Glasgow, Scotland - OVO Hydro

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 - Manchester, England - O2 Apollo Manchester

Thursday, February 26, 2026 - Manchester, England - O2 Apollo Manchester

Saturday, February 28, 2026 - London, England - OVO Wembley Arena

Sunday, March 1, 2026 - Birmingham, England - O2 Academy Birmingham

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - Zurich, Switzerland – Volkshaus

On-Air Schedule

Amy James