HARDY has been one of the main talking points of CMA Fest Presented by SoFi this year. He had a beautiful moment singing ‘Girl Crush’ with Miranda Lambert, Karen Fairchild, Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley, along with his goosebump-inducing final song, ‘Bottomland’ at the Nissan Stadium - just him, his mic and a stadium full of fans.

And quietly behind the scenes, HARDY is working on a new project. He talks to Holler about his new concept album, the focus point of it, and how he’s back in the saddle with his writing.

“Not a lot,” he laughs when he’s asked about what he can share about the mysterious new project.

“For the first time in a long time,” he says, “I’ve been really in the pocket with writing songs for myself and outside of myself.”

HARDY has written 16 number one hits in his career that spans over a decade, received countless awards and has writing credits on some of the most iconic earworms of modern country music.

Most recently, HARDY has penned some of the most played songs in country music. He shares how his spark for writing songs has been reignited, particularly during the back-end of last year where he wrote four big tracks - two of which are seemingly yet to be released, “The first was ‘Be Her’, then a song Cody Johnson just recorded, a song that Jelly Roll just recorded and then ‘McArthur’ was the fourth.”

His own music flits between rock and country. He’s released rock albums, country/rock genre blending projects and most recently a studio album which he says was him “writing for my return to country”.

So what’s next?

“It’s an expansion of my artistry,” he shares. “There’s a lot I’ll be able to do with it…a lot to be excited about...I feel like I’m having these moments I had, like, right when my career started where I’m inspired again and writing songs that make me happy.”

There’s not a lot HARDY is willing to give away about this next body of work, keeping his cards firmly to his chest. However, when asked about the long-teased 8 minute song it will revolve around, he laughs, “It’s actually 9 now…it’s not finished yet”.

“I’m very, very, very excited about the batch of songs that are gonna be on this record,” he goes on to share, smiling. “It’s extremely different, a lot of it, but still me and I’m stoked.”

With a catalogue as refreshingly diverse and eclectic as HARDY’s, it’s hard to imagine what ‘extremely different’ looks like to him. Maybe it’s the writers he’s working with, playing with more introspective themes perhaps, or potentially some more genre-blending features. All we can do is wait. But you bet it’s going to be worth it.

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