Jon Pardi is about to trade honky tonks for the gridiron, and college football fans better be ready for a halftime show that’ll stomp the turf flat.
The Big 12 Conference just confirmed that Pardi will headline the 2025 Big 12 Football Championship halftime performance on December 6 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, making him the first country artist ever to own that stage for this event. Finally, after years of non-country bookings, fans are getting someone who knows how to bring both the twang and the thunder.
This is a man who’s been flying the honky tonk flag high for over a decade. From “Dirt on My Boots” to “Heartache Medication” to his latest album, Honkytonk Hollywood, Pardi’s built his reputation on real-deal country, the kind that sounds just as good in a packed stadium as it does in a neon-lit bar. Six No. 1 hits, a voice made for raising hell on a Saturday night, and a live show that never lets the crowd breathe? The Big 12 just picked the right cowboy for the job.
Jon Pardi‘s no stranger to mixing music and football, either. He’s performed at the College Football Playoff, had his “Night Shift” video debut on ESPN as a pre-game hype piece, and even announced an NFL draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers back in 2017. So when he says he’s “fired up” for this one, it’s not just lip service.
“I’m so fired up to be part of the Big 12 Football Championship game this year, and to be the first country artist to do it makes it even more fun,” Pardi said. “It’s going to be a good time, we’re going to give fans an unforgettable show.”
And it’s not just him. The marching bands from both competing schools will join him on the field, making this halftime more than just a quick stage setup and a couple of radio hits. This will be a full-on Big 12 spectacle, with brass, drums, and boots hitting the turf in rhythm.
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If you’ve never seen Pardi live, here’s the rundown: he works the stage like a man on a mission, cracking jokes between songs, hitting every note like it’s the last one of the night, and playing for the back row just as much as the die-hards up front. It’s high energy without sacrificing the steel guitar, fiddle, and hard-country backbone that got him here in the first place.
For Big 12 fans, the last few halftime bookings have been a mixed bag, with a little rap here and some pop there, but now it’s back-to-home turf. The kind of halftime where your beer might get warm because you forgot to drink it while you were singing along.
The game kicks off at 11 a.m. CT on December 6, but if you want to be in the building when Pardi hits that first chord, tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on August 14 through SeatGeek. Considering his Honkytonk Hollywood Tour wraps up just weeks before, you can bet he’ll be fresh, fired up, and ready to make some noise loud enough to shake the rafters.
Whether you’re rooting for your team or just there for the music, one thing’s for sure, Jon Pardi’s halftime set is about to give the Big 12 Championship a shot of pure country adrenaline.
Now the only question is… will the crowd be louder for the touchdown or for “Dirt on My Boots”? My money’s on Pardi.
