Ludlow, KY-based Jordan Smart is having quite the year, from recently winning the Gems on VHS’s Gems In The Rough Contest, and now out supporting Tommy Prine on tour for more than 30 US dates in 2023.
Pull out the bottles and cans and stomp along to the sweltering new single, “Pickle Song” from Ludlow’s own, Jordan Smart. “Pickle Song” is a direct hit into the nitty-gritty of the modern world, tackling topics like discrimination, gentrification, and how we as humans can be so disgustingly afraid of the things and cultures we don’t understand (no pun intended).
Overall the track rides on the back of a beautifully unhinged drum push, tasty organ lines, and Smart’s strong acoustic guitar drive. Smart is a gifted writer with a high-powered singing voice that with ease cuts through the line of full folk-rock amusement. Putting all cliches aside, Smart is an artist who truly deserves a much wider audience and seems ripe on the vine to finding it. There are many records at Glide we eagerly await in 2024, but a debut from Smart would be near the top of that list.
Several years ago I drank a large cup of gas station coffee after having no caffeine for a few weeks or more, got on social media, saw how dumb people were acting towards each other, got real upset about how groups of people dehumanize one another because some blabbering billionaire or politician or tech lord has an agenda to continue lining their pockets with the fruits of the labor of an ever increasingly divided working class. So, I wrote a song about pickles and called it, “Pickle Song,” says Smart.
Catch Jordan Smart live on tour with Tommy Prine.
Jordan Smart on Tour
July 9 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
July 11 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Brewery
July 13 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
July 14 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry
July 15 – Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
July 16 – Davenport, IA – Racoon Motel
Aug. 8 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
Aug. 9 – Columbia, MO – Rose Music Hall
Aug. 10 – Kansas City, MO – Knuckleheads
Aug. 11 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown
Aug. 12 – Des Moines, IA – xBK
Oct. 11 – Vancouver, BC – Wise Hall
Oct. 12 – Bellingham, WA – New Prospect Theatre
Oct. 13 – Seattle, WA – Conor Byrne Pub
Oct. 14 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
Oct. 15 – Bend, OR – Volcanic Theatre Pub
Oct. 17 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
Oct. 18 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
Oct. 20 – Mariposa, CA – The Grove House
Oct. 21 – Morro Bay, CA – The Siren
Oct. 22 – Los Angeles, CA – Gold Diggers
Oct. 23 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy + Harriet’s
Nov. 8 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
Nov. 9 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival
Nov. 10 – Columbus, OH – Natalie’s Grandview
Nov. 11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
Nov. 12 – Washington, D.C. – Pearl Street Warehouse
Nov. 14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Lounge At World Cafe Live
All dates supporting Tommy Prine
