Concert review: Opener Kassi Ashton, headliner Jon Pardi together gave high-energy crowd at Northern Quest quality country show

A wind-filled and perhaps unusually chilly Friday night at Northern Quest Resort & Casino didn’t stop country music hitmaker Jon Pardi from putting on an energetic show.

Kassi Ashton opened the show with a solid set. I had interviewed Ashton at the Watershed Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington, last year and had been immediately intrigued by her outgoing personality and obvious love for performance; tonight was no different.

Her personality, at Watershed and Friday night, shone with an impressive sense of stage presence perfect for her country-rock sound. Sometimes openers appear a little less than excited to be playing an early evening set in full daylight. That wasn’t the case with Ashton.

For as much as she was interacting with the crowd, telling short anecdotes and moving around the BECU Live stage, her vocals stayed strong and full.

During our 2024 interview, Ashton had come across as the kind of person that would be happy to sing on any stage, big or small. With my second time seeing her perform, I’m inclined to believe that hunch was right.

Afterwards, as the sun began to set on Airway Heights, the man with six country chart-topping singles arrived with his signature white cowboy hat before an ecstatic crowd.

The California musician may have been braving the chill and was slightly sick (as he noted), but Pardi certainly brought his plethora of hits, and the crowd was loving it. Songs sure to become 2010s country classics like “Heartache on the Dancefloor,” “Dirt on my Boots,” and “Heartache Medication” were met with an especially uproarious response.

Pardi had great stage presence himself and kept the crowd engaged throughout the set, often pointing out specific members of the crowd whose energy caught his eye. It was easy to find standouts among one of the most excited crowds I’ve seen over the years at Northern Quest.

Vocally, Pardi provided impressive note changes not featured within his recorded tracks. He has been in the game for a while, and it’s easy to tell.

Instrumentally and regarding his overall sound, I now prefer Pardi live. I’ve always preferred when he takes a more neo-traditional, 1990s country-esque sound, and this truly shone live. Maybe it was the less-polished live sound in comparison with the studio recordings, but each instrument simply stands out more live – especially the keys, fiddle and drums. And I’m sure glad they do, just a killer band to boot.

Overall, Pardi offered a great performance from one of the most solidified country hitmakers of the past decade or so.