Country music star ready to rock on 2025 tour: ‘Ambitious, messy, audacious’

Get ready to stomp your boots and cheer, if you’re a fan of Hardy. The country rock star has announced more than 40 concert dates for 2025, including a show in Alabama.

Hardy’s “Jim Bob World Tour” will stop in Birmingham on Sept. 12 at the new Coca-Cola Amphitheater, promoter Live Nation announced on Monday. Stephen Wilson Jr. and Sikarus also are on the bill.

Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. show go on sale Friday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. CT via Live Nation/Ticketmaster, after a round of pre-sales. Prices are $28.75, $48.75, $68.75, $88.75, $118.75 and $138.75, according to Live Nation.

Pre-sales start on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m. CT and end on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 10 p.m. CT, according to the ticket listing.

Hardy’s tour starts on May 22 at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California, and ends on Sept. 24 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (See the full list of tour dates here.)

Along with Birmingham, the trek includes Southern cities such as Brandon, Mississippi, (Sept. 11, Brandon Amphitheater) and Atlanta (Sept. 18, Lakewood Amphitheatre). Koe Wetzel is listed as an opening act for several dates on the tour, but he’ll be off the bill in Birmingham.

The Birmingham date is Hardy’s only Alabama stop on the “Jim Bob” tour. However, he previously was confirmed for the lineup of Morgan Wallen’s Sand in My Boots Festival in Gulf Shores. The sold-out event, billed as a one-time takeover of the Hangout Music Fest, is scheduled May 16-18.

Hardy, 34, a Mississippi native born Michael Hardy, is known for hits such as “Wait in the Truck,” “One Beer,” “Truck Bed,” “Sold Out” and “Give Heaven Some Hell.”

Styling his name as HARDY, he earned acclaim as a songwriter in 2018, with credits on tunes recorded by Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton and other artists. One of his earliest supporters was Wallen, who was featured on Hardy’s songs “He Went to Jared” and “Turn You Down” in 2019.

Hardy signed to Big Loud Records and released his debut for the label, “A Rock,” in 2020. At the time, American Songwriter touted his song “Boots’ and called Hardy a “promising purveyor of keeping the spirit of classic heavy Southern rock alive.”

Hardy is set to perform in 2025 at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Birmingham on his “Jim Bob World Tour.”(Courtesy photo)

Hardy’s big breakthrough came in 2023, however, with “The Mockingbird & The Crow,” a double album that fuses country with hard rock. The record hit No.1 on the Billboard charts and earned kudos from Rolling Stone, who called the project “ambitious, messy, and more than a little audacious in concept, but not so heady that it couldn’t soundtrack a lively Saturday night among friends.”

Hardy received seven nominations from the Academy of Country Music in 2023, all linked to “The Mockingbird & The Crow,” and won four ACM Awards for “Wait in the Truck,” a duet with Lainey Wilson.

“Wait in the Truck” earned two CMA Awards in 2023, as well, in the categories of Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year.

Hardy continued in the heavy rock vein with the album “Quit!!” in 2024, teaming with Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hank Williams III and David Allan Coe as featured artists.

His latest record, “Hardy (Live from Red Rocks),” was released on Feb. 7, featuring songs such as “Rockstar,” “Rednecker,” “Jim Bob,” “Happy Hour” and “Unapologetically Country As Hell.”

Hardy’s concert in Birmingham is a new addition to the lineup for the Coca-Cola Amphitheater, a $46 million concert venue that’s currently under construction in Birmingham.

The first children’s show for the amphitheater, Kidz Bop Live, was announced on Monday, as well. The family-friendly pop troupe is set to perform at the downtown venue on Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. CT via Live Nation/Ticketmaster.

The 9,380-seat amphitheater should be ready for the public in June 2025, according to organizers. Up to 20 shows are expected for the debut season, focusing on country, classic rock, rap and more.

The amphitheater — owned by the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and managed by Live Nation — has announced 16 concerts for 2025 thus far, ranging from comedian Matt Rife (June 22) to country star Jason Aldean (Sept. 26). Shows by the Alabama Shakes, Rod Stewart, Jason Isbell, Nelly, Luke Bryan and Dave Matthews Band are on the agenda, as well.

RELATED: Music stars we’d love to see at Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Alabama