Jordan Rager

Jordan Rager has been through it all. He's weathered every possible high and low, and so his upcoming releases feel not only special but downright triumphant. Expected later this year, the collection of songs was born out of his willingness to step back and reassess his life. Its themes of celebration of small-town life, heartbreak, love, loss and simply living in the moment are woven into a rich, electric guitar-soaked snapshot of what it means to be country right down to his core.

A down-home country boy in every way, Rager was born and raised in the tiny rural community of Loganville, Georgia, which lies just 30-miles west of Atlanta. He's the son of a preacher man, and his early roots of singing in the church instilled him with both a great sense of worship and an unwavering passion for performing. It was one crisp Sunday morning when he was a wide-eyed 11-year-old that Rager's life changed forever; at the urging of his father, he took to the church stage for the first time to sing and was immediately struck by music's innate power. And he's never looked back.


Alan Jackson has also played a significant role in his craft, as his biggest musical influence. Rager culls a similar southern drawl and a boyish charm to rip right through you, and his initial performance training around the local bar scene also fed his drive even more. After a performance at a Susan G. Komen event, Barry Williams (Jason Aldean’s father) took him under his wing and began mentoring the sprightly young guitar-slinger.

In cementing a strong public presence, and coming into adulthood in the digital age, Rager soon took over YouTube for a slew of covers, including Jamey Johnson’s “In Color,” Kip Moore’s “Something Bout a Truck” and Miranda Lambert’s “Famous in a Small Town.” He not only harvested hundreds of thousands of views, but superstar Justin Moore quickly took notice and asked the then-19-year-old Rager to hop aboard his 2013 arena tour.


One year later, Rager signed his first record deal and headed off on his first radio tour. His debut single “Southern Boy,” a collaboration with Jason Aldean, arrived in early 2016 with the EP of the same name later that year. Splitting on amicable terms in 2017, Rager quickly shifted gears and signed a new deal with Riser House Records. His first single for the new label home called “One of the Good Ones” came in 2018 and later “Georgia Boy.”


During such a transitional period of his life, Rager took nearly two years to just write. He soon found himself more creatively energized than he had been in a very long time. “Going back home never entered my mind. Someone once told me when I was really young when I had just gotten started playing music,” he recalls. “They said, ‘If you have a plan B, you might as well just go with that, because this career path takes an immense amount of dedication. You’re going to have days when you feel like you want to give up.’”


Musically, he digs even deeper into his well of influences these days. “I’ve gotten to touch on a lot of influences that I never really got a chance to work with. Country music is my first heart and always will be,” he explains. “But I’ve got a lot of influences that range from the different styles of rock ‘n roll to punk-rock. I grew up in church, so I have a lot of gospel influence. I feel like I pull inspiration from anything I’ve ever listened to and enjoyed.”


Rager’s long-awaited music is very much a statement on living and loving and trying to get by. Alongside producer Chris Stevens, who is “a freak of nature in the best way,” says the singer, even the music carries with it a towering significance. “He makes the song and music come to life like I never could have imagined. It’s just been a fun process to work with him,” notes Rager.


He’s put in the hours, and it’s now his time to really shine.