Keith Urban was full of surprises on Wednesday, Jan. 17 in Nashville, Tenn. The singer appeared in a free pop-up show at Exit / In to play some older fan favorites as well as make some very special announcements.
After opening with a few songs from recent years, including the 2016 hit “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” Urban launched into the news: He will be releasing new music very soon! The new album will be called “Graffiti U,” and while details of the release date are still vague, the singer had even more news to share. He will be heading out on the road in 2018 for the “Graffiti U” World Tour, which kicks off on June 15 in St. Louis, Mo. He’ll be bringing Kelsea Ballerini out on the road with him, and Ballerini also appeared onstage during the surprise Nashville show as a special guest.
“Man, it’s good to be back at the Exit / In,” Urban commented between songs. He went on to tell the story of a performance he’d given at the venue early in his career, before he’d signed to his record label, Capitol Records. He recalls struggling with an amp during his set, and getting his equipment to work just in time to see a white limo pull up and Jimmy Bowen, who was then the head of Capitol Records, get out and come inside the Exit / In. “I was playing, thinking, ‘Oh man, this is awesome,’ Urban says. However, he was not to be signed that day: Bowen looked around for about 30 seconds and then headed for the door. “In his defense, I think I sucked back then,” Urban laughs.
Dreams that come true seemed to be a theme of the night. During her appearance onstage, Ballerini told the story of the first time she met Urban just before launching into “Love Me Like You Mean It,” the single that introduced her to country fame in 2015. At 14, Ballerini had only just begun writing songs, and she wasn’t sure which direction she wanted to go in as a musician. Then, she saw Urban live and met him after the show. This event sparked her to move to Nashville and pursue a country career. “I wish I could go back and tell my 14 year old self that 10 years later I would spend my summer touring with the person whose songs led me to Nashville,” Ballerini said on Wednesday in an Instagram post.
The energy remained high at Urban’s pop-up show after the big announcements: the singer pulled a fan onstage, an aspiring singer herself, to duet with him, and performed an amped-up rendition of his most recent single “The Fighter” with the crowd singing Carrie Underwood‘s part of the song for her. “If I could just bring all of you on the road, that’d be great,” Urban joked.
That isn’t all: Urban also had not one but four new songs to share. “I recorded a lot of songs; I recorded too many songs,” the singer joked. Readers can press play above for a taste of the rollicking “Texas Time,” Urban’s new contribution to the impressive catalogue of songs written about and for the Lone Star state. The singer also performed a new song called “Parallel Line,” which he’d teased earlier that day via a social media post with the caption “1.19.18.”
Urban also shared a ballad off the new album called “Same Heart.” Press play below to see video footage of that song.
Additionally, the singer another new tune called “Steal My Thunder,” a catchy love song about letting your girl be the star of the show. He rounded out the night with some more older fan favorites — including a medley that took an unexpected turn into Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” — before saying he hoped to see everyone in the audience out on the road.
Here’s a full list of stops on Keith Urban’s Graffiti U World Tour, which kicks off on June 15:
June 15 — St. Louis, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 16 — Indianapolis, Ind. @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
June 22 — Clarkston, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
June 23 — Pittsburgh, Pa. @ KeyBank Pavilion
June 27 — Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 29-30 — Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Budweiser Stage
July 5-6 — Gilford, N.H. @ Bank of NH Pavilion
July 8 — Canadaigua, N.Y. @ CMAC
July 13 — Salt Lake City, Utah @ USNA Amphitheatre
July 14 — Denver, Colo. @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 15 — Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater
July 20 — Mountain View, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 21-22 — Lake Tahoe, Nev. @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
July 27 — Raleigh, N.C. @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
July 28 — Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Music Pavilion
July 29 — Alpharetta, Ga. @ Verizon Amphitheatre
Aug. 3 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 4 — Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 5 — Bangor, Maine @ Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Aug. 10 — Cleveland, Ohio @ Blossom Music Center
Aug. 11 — Bristow, Vt. @ Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 12 — Virginia Beach, Va. @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Aug. 15 — Rogers, Ark. @ Walmart AMP *
Aug. 17 — Kansas City, Mo. @ Sprint Center
Aug. 18 — Chicago, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 19 — Cincinnati, Ohio @ Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 24 — Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 25 — Orange Beach, Ala. @ Wharf Amphitheater
Aug. 26 — Tuscaloosa, Ala. @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Sept. 7-8 — Uncasville, Conn. @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Sept. 14 — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada @ Canadian Tire Centre *
Sept. 15 — London, Ontario, Canada @ Budweiser Gardens *
Sept. 19 — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada @ Bell MTS Place *
Sept. 21 — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada @ SaskTel Centre *
Sept. 22 — Edmonton, Alberta, Canada @ Rogers Place *
Sept. 23 — Calgary, Alberta, Canada @ ScotiaBank Saddledome *
Sept. 25 — Vancover, British Columbia, Canada @ Rogers Arena *
Sept. 27 — Eugene, Ore. @ Matthew Knight Arena
Sept. 28 — Boise, Idaho @ Taco Bell Arena
Sept. 29 — Missola, Mont. @ Adams Center
Oct. 4 — Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
Oct. 5 — Laughlin, Nev. @ Laughlin Event Center
Oct. 12 — Peoria, Ill. @ Peoria Civic Center
Oct. 13 — Minneapolis, Minn. @ Target Center
Oct. 14 — Grand Forks, N.D @ Ralph Engelstad Arena
Oct. 18 — Toledo, Ohio @ Huntington Center
Oct. 19 — Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel Arena
Oct. 20 — Louisville, Ky. @ KFC Yum! Center
Oct. 24 — Youngstown, Ohio @ Covelli Centre
Oct. 25 — Hershey, Pa. @ Giant Center
Oct. 27 — Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Barclays Center
Oct. 28 — Charlottesville, Va. @ John Paul Jones Arena
Nov. 1 — Little Rock, Ark. @ Verizon Arena
Nov. 2 — New Orleans, La. @ Smoothie King Center
Nov. 3 — Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center.
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
