HARDY Is Releasing a Half Country, Half Rock Album

Mississippi-born singer-songwriter HARDY is aiming to cement his multi-genre success with the release of his forthcoming album, The Mockingbird & The Crow, on Jan. 20, 2023 via Big Loud Records. The project follows his 2020 debut album A ROCK, and over the course of 17 songs on the new album, HARDY will traverse his penchant for both country and rock.

The album’s nearly seven-minutes-long title track serves as a bridge between the two halves of the album.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HARDY (@hardy)

“It starts with the mockingbird, and the Mississippi state bird is the mockingbird,” HARDY said in a video posted to social media on Monday (Oct. 10). “I’m a mockingbird and I repeat things I’ve heard my whole life, that’s part of my songwriter thing and part of who I am, and the song slowly transitions into the crow, which is the rock n’ roll character that flies his own path, just as the crow flies.”

Over the past few years, the Philadelphia, Miss., native has not only been a writer on numerous chart-toppers for Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Lane and others (and is the newly minted ACM songwriter of the year winner), but he’s also earned Billboard chart-toppers as an artist in the country realm (with “One Beer” and his work on Dierks Bentley’s “Beers on Me” alongside BRELAND), and rock with a top 20 hit on Billboard’s Hard Rock Songs chart with “Blurry,” followed by a No. 1 hit on that same chart with “Sold Out.”

HARDY offered a hefty preview of the album, releasing three new songs, including the album’s title track, as well as “Truck Bed” and “Here Lies Country Music.” Those songs follow his recent releases, “Jack,” the Lainey Wilson duet “Wait in the Truck,” and “Sold Out.” One of the country songs on the project, “Red,” will feature his friend and collaborator Morgan Wallen.

The album was recorded at Nashville’s Ocean Way studio and Blackbird Studios, with the full of the album produced by Joey Moi, with co-production from HARDY and Derek Wells, and co-production on some songs from David Garcia, Jordan Schmidt, Ben Johnson, Andrew Wade, Jeremy McKinnon and Cody Quistad.

HARDY also recently revealed to fans that he and members of his crew were treated for “significant injuries” following a tour bus accident that happened as they were returning from his show at Bristol Country Thunder in Tennessee. On Oct. 4, he offered fans an update, saying that he and those aboard the bus with him were “mostly OK.”

“I just finished hanging out with Tanner,” HARDY said. “Tanner’s OK, Noah’s OK. I still want you guys to pray for our bus driver, Ricky, who is still not in the clear yet. So if you guys could please pray for him, that would be greatly appreciated … he got a good report tonight, but he needs all the love and all the prayers that he can get.”

HARDY also canceled a couple of shows, including his opening slot for Morgan Wallen’s The Dangerous Tour stop in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 8 at Globe Life Field, and HARDY’S own show at Flannagan’s in Columbus, Ohio, which was slated for Oct. 13. The Columbus show is being rescheduled for July 1, 2023.

See the track list for The Mockingbird and the Crow below:

All songs produced by Joey Moi

All songs co-produced by Derek Wells and HARDY

* co-produced by David Garcia

^ co-produced by Jordan Schmidt

+ co-produced by Ben Johnson

~ co-produced by Andrew Wade