Mr. Saturday Night (album)

Mr. Saturday Night was announced in February 2022 alongside the release of its lead single "Last Night Lonely".[1] When talking about the album with Billboard, Pardi said "These are songs that I've had on hold for two years, that have been part of this project for a long time. They stuck around and carved their names into this album and it wouldn't sound the same without them. Everything fits, from the ones I've written, the ones I've recorded, they're all based around me and in the long run, a lot of these songwriters know the sounds that I gravitate toward."[2]

The album's official track listing was revealed on July 23, 2022, along with the release of "Mr. Saturday Night" as a promotional single. Of the album's title track, Pardi stated "I feel like everybody wants to be Mr. Saturday Night at one point on the weekend and have a good time. But then you hear the song and – the way it's so well written – it's a sad song, but you don't go there right away, because it's also a fun song. That's the thing about 'Mr. Saturday Night', it's more than meets the eye. It's all fun until you get to the chorus."[3]

The album's second single, "Longneck Way To Go" was released to radio on July 18, 2022. A collaboration with Midland, who co-wrote the song with Rhett Akins and Ashley Gorley, the song was also featured on their album The Last Resort: Greeting From which was released on May 6, 2022.[4]

A week before the album's release, Pardi stated in an interview that the deluxe version, planned for a 2023 release, would feature a collaboration with Luke Bryan. Of the song, Pardi explained "I'm pretty excited about it. It's a very country song. It's one of my favorites, and it was meant for me and Luke to sing. It's not about a girl, but it's about hard work. I think it's gonna be a big song."[5]

In an interview with Taste Of Country, Pardi explained that his decision to only co-write five of the album's fourteen songs was due to his belief that the "best song wins", noting that "I could have wrote the whole record. Would it have been as good? No."[6]

Adapted from liner notes.[7]

• Sarah Buxton – background vocals
• Jess Carson – acoustic guitar (track 8), background vocals (track 8)
• Dave Cohen – accordion, B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
• Robbie Crowell – B-3 organ (track 8)
• Cameron Duddy – bass guitar (track 8), background vocals (track 8)
• Justin Ebach – programming
• Jeneé Fleenor – fiddle
• Lee Francis – bass guitar
• Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar (track 8)
• Ryan Gore – programming
• Dann Huff – electric guitar (track 8)
• David Huff – programming (track 8)
• Mike Johnson – pedal steel guitar
• Charlie Judge – piano (track 8)
• Trey Keller – background vocals
• Luke Laird – programming
• Brice Long – background vocals
• Brent Mason – electric guitar
• Rob McNelley – electric guitar
• Miles McPherson – drums, percussion, programming
• Greg Morrow – drums (track 8), tambourine (track 8)
• Justin Niebank – programming (track 8)
• Jon Pardi – lead vocals, background vocals
• Sol Philcox-Littlefield – electric guitar (track 8)
• Danny Rader – acoustic guitar
• Jeff Roach – B-3 organ, piano
• Scotty Sanders – pedal steel guitar
• Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar (track 8), banjo (track 8)
• Mark Wystrach – lead vocals (track 8)