Stars: 3/5
“Hello fellow Hunker Downers.”
If you’re like me, actor Leslie Jordan’s Instagram posts were a bright spot in the midst of the dark days of the COVID pandemic.
From his camera angles as he laid amid his sofa pillows, expressing the boredom we all felt during the early stages of quarantine to his funny sayings and genuine demeanor, Jordan struck a chord with Instagrammers last March, becoming largely popular on social media.
When 2021 rolled around, Jordan appeared next to Mayim Bialik on Fox’s new sitcom “Call Me Kat.” Just this past weekend, on the eve of yet another March, Jordan appeared on a new platform with his own radio show on Apple Music.
The first episode of “Hunker Down Radio” with Leslie Jordan aired on Feb. 28, but you can replay it any time for free with an Apple Music subscription.
Now, to clarify, “Hunker Down Radio” is not a podcast. It’s a radio show. Just like the Bobby Bones Show, The Kid Kraddick Morning Show or anything else you would hear on the regular FM radio in your car.
It’s part of the relatively new Apple Music Radio, which features original radio shows from a wide range of hosts. Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, the Backstreet Boys and Lady Gaga are just a few others who have their own Apple Music Radio shows.
It’s actually a pretty cool idea. Instead of just listening to a straight music playlist for an hour, you can pick and choose to listen to one of your favorite artists or personalities host a show, complete with music and a few personal anecdotes in between. Some shows include guests, and if you’re not available during the airtime, you can listen or re-listen to any episode you want on demand.
“Hunker Down Radio” is part of the Apple Music Country station.
Joining Jordan in the host seat is country music artist Travis Howard, or as Jordan calls him, “T.”
After the intro tag, which both warns and promises the next hour will be, “Completely unpredictable, maybe a little naughty, but always a darn good time,” Jordan and Howard reminisced about how they met, and then jumped into their playlist.
Naturally, they played a lot of country music, largely old country, but had some gospel and even some Justin Timberlake weaved into the mix.
Throughout the hour-long episode, Jordan and Howard segued between songs with memories and anecdotes about the artists they were playing.
You’ll notice in the song list below; Jordan played a hymn from his new album “Company’s Comin’” which is set to be released on April 2.
Episode one’s music lineup:
- “Delta Dawn” – Tanya Tucker
- “Seven Year Ache” – Rosanne Cash
- “Famous in a Small Town” – Miranda Lambert
- “Late Morning Lullaby” – Brandi Carlile
- “Angel Band” – Leslie Jordan and Brandi Carlile
- “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – cover by Yola
- “Midnight Rider” – The Allman Brothers Band
- “He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones
- “Tennessee Whiskey” – Chris Stapleton
- “Drink You Away” – Justin Timberlake
- “The Age of Worry” – John Mayer
- “The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia” – Vicki Lawrence
- “Jolene” – Dolly Parton
And, of course, Jordan closed the episode with his “Sunday Hymn Singin’.” He and Howard took a shot at the 1929 hymn “I’ll Fly Away” to sing the listeners out.
There’s both an explicit and “clean” version of the first “Hunker Down Radio” episode, the latter of which mutes out any curse words. Overall, the show wasn’t quite as funny as some of Jordan’s content. He sadly didn’t say any of his more popular Instagram video catchphrases. But I really like the idea behind these Apple Music Radio shows. There were no commercials and the talking between songs was short and sweet, just enough to separate the music.
Leslie Allen Jordan will report for duty on “Hunker Down Radio” weekly, with new episodes coming each Sunday.
