Some of the most meaningful experiences of Jordan Davis' early life wouldn't have happened without cruising for long stretches on the highways of Louisiana, his home state. Through his childhood and teens, he logged many miles with his father and brother in their late-1960s Jeep Wagoneer.
It was a two-hour trip from their home in Shreveport to fish the productive waters of the legendary Toledo Bend Reservoir, just across the Texas state line. In the cooler months, they would travel almost the same distance in the opposite direction, where a deer camp called the Lizards Nest II awaited near the tiny community of Homer.
Learning to appreciate the outdoors early in life helped to shape the man Davis is today: a successful country music artist who is also a husband and a father to four young children. When he looks back, Davis, 37, says he realizes those frequent hunting and fishing highway jaunts were defining life events for him.
"We spent a lot of time driving to those spots and listening to music; I think that's where I really fell in love with songwriting," says Davis, who is about to release his third full-length album on August 15, 2025, Learn the Hard Way. (Click here for pre-orders and more information.)
"My dad had a range of music that he listened to, including Motown, like The Temptations, and Southern rock like the Allman Brothers Band. But it always came back to the great songwriters: people like John Prine, Jim Croce, and Kris Kristofferson."
A Remarkably Musical Family
There was always music around the Davis household growing up, and it wasn't just from the family's extensive collection of CDs, records, and cassettes. Jordan’s dad Ricky Davis loved picking the guitar and singing, and his mother, Luwanna Wheeler Davis, played the piano at church. Plus, his uncle Stan Paul Davis was a songwriter with lots of recording credits in the 1980s and '90s.
This influence also rubbed off on Jordan’s older brother Jacob Davis, who grew up to become a professional country singer and songwriter in his own right; he frequently collaborates with his brother.
There was so much music around all the time that, in some ways, Jordan says, he took it for granted. But the soundtrack of those long drives with his father grabbed his attention in a different way. He would contemplate the meanings of the songs he was hearing, and sometimes, they ran pretty deep.
"I was pretty young, and I didn't always know what the songs were about, but I realized that it's the honesty in them that makes them special," he says. "So much of what makes songwriting good is that it's coming from an honest place."
Maybe that explains the appeal of some of Jordan Davis' big hits. "Buy Dirt," for instance, isn't just a catchy real estate tip; it has a more enduring message of putting down family roots. "Next Thing You Know" and "What My World Spins Around" reinforce the idea that a wondrous love cannot just take your breath away but can change your life forever.
Down South in Shreveport With Jordan Davis
The part of Louisiana where Jordan grew up is the proud source of the state’s nickname, “Sportsman’s Paradise,” and his childhood memories bear that out. To dispel some regional cliches, his homeland wasn't one of cypress swamps teeming with alligators, and fiddles and accordions didn’t fill thick, heavy air with Cajun sounds. The higher, partially forested ground on which they hunted, first for deer and later for ducks, was still surely in the Deep South, but it was so far north, it was almost in Arkansas.
"It was pretty much oil land," is how Jordan describes it. "We're talking typical hardwoods, fairly flat, with a lot of bean fields around it." The one sizable body of water, which he calls a slough, was there only because beavers had built a dam.
Davis says the music always continued once they reached camp, with his father and some of his hunting buddies breaking out acoustic guitars and singing old Hank Williams and Johnny Cash songs.
Daybreak was, of course, quiet in their hand-built deer stand as they patiently waited for whitetails to show themselves. Often, they didn’t show at all before hunting light was gone. This part of the country wasn't prime territory for trophy whitetails by any means, Davis says, but they shot their share of does over the years that put meat on the table. The season his father took a six-point buck was a memorable one for the Davis family.
"We never really grew any big deer over there," he says. "We weren't really managing the land; it was just kind of a deer lease and a place to go and put camo on and be outside."
During one of those lulls between deer sightings, the Davises noticed dozens of wood ducks circling in to land on that nearby slough. This was the spark that led to Jordan’s strong passion for hunting waterfowl.
Make sure to subscribe to Hook & Barrel Magazine to catch more great Jordan Davis content in the “Jamming Out” column of the November/December 2025 print issue.
Grandpa's Fishing Hole
On the Davis’ annual trips to Hemphill, Texas, there was a different kind of action, and it was on the water. Jordan’s grandfather, C. L. Wheeler, had a house on Toledo Bend that was nearly next door to the well-known Fin & Feather Resort, so Jordan spent the bulk of his summers exploring parts of the 185,000-acre reservoir.
"We'd chase crappie all around that lake," he says. "Those were some of the most fun times I've ever had in my life."
He immortalized such outings in his song "Fishing Spot," which he released in 2023. It wasn't a massive hit like some of Jordan’s other songs, but it's very meaningful to him and many of his fans. Even though the “Fishing Spot” comes from a personal place for Jordan, it’s relatable to many. He says people often tell him the song conjures up priceless memories of fishing with their own loved ones, and those important moments between taut lines.
Jordan Davis on Passing Along the Outdoor Lifestyle to the Next Generation
The circle of life being what it is, Jordan and his wife of eight years Kristen O’Connor Davis have already ushered three of their children — Eloise, 5, Locklan, 3, and Elijah, 2 — toward the joys of the outdoors. His youngest Sadie was just born in June 2025, but her time will come.
As a family, they take advantage of everything the American outdoors has to offer in the Nashville area, the city they’ve called home since 2012.
"None of them have come on a hunt with me yet," Davis says, "but they go on a lot of fishing trips with me for bream and crappie. They really just love being at the farm, being outside riding in the side-by-side and going and watching for ducks in the evening. And that's exactly how I want it to be: them falling in love with what the outdoors is.
“Hopefully I can introduce hunting within the next couple of years. Maybe I'll have them start with a BB gun, shooting at decoys."
Balancing Family and Two Careers
With four kids 5 and under, Jordan and Kristen certainly have their hands full. She works as an attorney, so he pitches in as much as possible with the important job of parenting. Obviously, it's more challenging when he's on the road touring, and he's always trying to find the right balance.
"It's extremely difficult, and I don't feel like I've ever gotten it figured out," he says. "It makes communication super important, and I work hard to just 'be present' in whatever it is."
Now that he’s reached a more comfortable level of success, Jordan doesn't tour as relentlessly as he once did, which gives him more quality time with his family. He's gearing up for a fall schedule of shows (the Ain't Enough Roads Tour) that includes some familiar stops and some new ones. He'll perform for the first time at vaunted venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, and the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.
He'll surely have some down time later on to get some duck hunting in, one of his favorite pastimes. But until then, he'll be spending lots of hours rolling down one highway or another toward his next adventure. That green Jeep Wagoneer from his childhood was decidedly utilitarian compared to the comfortable tour bus he and his band are riding in now. Given his life history, though, it wouldn't be surprising if he passes some of those miles carefully listening to music and finding inspiration for new songs of his own.
Reflecting on where he started back in Shreveport, and the path from there to here, Jordan Davis sees how far his love of music has taken him, and he knows how fortunate he is.
"I consider myself so blessed to be able to do this for a living," he says. "I never thought in a million years that I'd be creating songs and going out and playing shows and being able to call that a job. It was something that I loved so much that I never thought of it like that. And when you realize what impact a song can have on people, that's when this job truly becomes a blessing."
For more on Davis' latest album, touring dates and more, visit jordandavisofficial.com.
