Hot off the January release of his latest album, BACKWARD, Jordan Ward couldn’t be more excited to bring his signature blend of R&B, neo-soul, and hip-hop back home to St. Louis at Delmar Hall on March 13.
Growing up in St. Louis, Ward showed an interest in the performing arts, particularly dance. He spent much of his young life dancing in high school and professional theater productions, traveling all over the country for competitions and conventions, and taking side gigs teaching dance to help pay his way. Any free moments were spent honing his craft. “By the time I got to my senior year and I graduated high school, it felt like the equivalent hours of a college degree in dance,” Ward says.
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From there, Ward moved to Los Angeles, where he eventually found work as a professional dancer for artists such as Becky G, Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, and Beyoncé. It was during off time while touring with Bieber that Ward started getting serious about making his own music. “I used to love to sing and rap when I was a kid,” Ward says. “Dancing on tour gave me the free time to start making songs on my laptop and getting beats from my friends. I slowly started putting more time into making music than I did with dancing.”
In terms of his sound, Ward had always been interested in R&B, neo-soul, and hip-hop. He grew up listening to artists such as Lauryn Hill, Lil Wayne, Erykah Badu, and Wiz Khalifa, and he heard his mom singing gospel music at church. Consequently, his music feels like a melding of those influences and more.
Ward began releasing music in 2017 and made waves in 2021 with his EP Remain Calm before eventually being signed to Interscope Records. Ward released his major label debut, FORWARD, in 2023, and he found particular success with the singles “WHITE CROCS” and “FAMJAM4000.”
After touring FORWARD intermittently for the better part of two years, Ward got to work on his next album in 2025. He pulled together the best demos he’d made in his downtime and collaborated with his executive producer, Lido, to put BACKWARD together. “We made a lot of the songs on these studio retreats, where we would book an Airbnb or studio and lock down for a week or two with a bunch of musician homies and just jam on ideas,” Ward recalls.
BACKWARD sees Ward capturing a larger live band sound and honing his craft as a songwriter, taking inspiration from artists such as Joni Mitchell and Bill Withers. The Apartment Tour marks his second headlining tour but his first with live musicians. Ward is excited to perform the new album’s songs for those who have supported him along the way.
“I love performing, I love touring with the gang, and I love interacting with the community of fans that we have,” Ward says. “They’ve supported us so much, and I just want them to know how much we care and how much love we’ve put into this project.”
A quick look at BACKWARD
Ward explores the next evolution of his sound on BACKWARD. While he notes that his previous album, FORWARD, featured a reliance on digital instruments and processed vocals, the intention with BACKWARD was to capture a larger, live band sound.
Ward also wanted to level up his songwriting skills on this release, so he did a deep dive into Joni Mitchell’s work and adopted his own songwriting alter ego, “Stoni Mitchell,” along the way. The cover of the album, washed in shadowy dark blues, is an homage to Mitchell’s seminal album Blue. Ward also cites Bill Withers, Roberta Flack, and Michael McDonald, among others, as major influences on the album.
Ward certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots: He collaborated on the track “CUTTI” with fellow St. Louis hip-hop icon Smino—another huge influence on Ward’s early music.
