From this past Thursday to Saturday, my family and I travelled down to Nashville, TN for the first time, to meet with some of my dad’s colleagues in their new office for Warner Music Group. On my second day there, we were treated to a Keith Urban concert compliments of Warner. As we walked into the bright arena, overlooked by the infamous “batman building,” my initial distaste for country music was proven wrong.
Typically, cowboy boots and twangy accents are not my speed. As someone who grew up in New Jersey with two parents who grew up in New York, my family isn’t interested in this type of music either. Going into the concert, I had a general idea of who Keith Urban was--an Australian country singer who was very successful and was once a judge on American Idol. Basically, this was not a typical concert that I would go to, where I knew all of the lyrics to every song.
Yet despite my lack of prior love for Keith Urban and his music, this was easily one of the best concerts that I have ever been to. Keith Urban’s music was lively, kept the crowd engaged, and was entertaining even without knowing his songs. He emerged onto the stage with only a few small silhouettes on the back projector, wearing a simple outfit of a T-shirt and jeans, ready to play his music for the excited awaiting crowd. He was so understated yet effective, and felt like he could be someone that you knew. He sang a plethora of different songs, from “Wasted Time” being very lively, accompanied by a clapping crowd, to an acoustic cover of “Hallelujah” (one of my personal favorites) that was also beautifully done. Not to mention, Urban is not only great as a performer, but as a person as well.
As per usual, the crowd members holding up posters were focused in on and projected on the jumbotrons, with Urban reading many of them. Oddly enough, a woman who was eight months pregnant was in attendance with her close friend. She held up a sign advertising her pregnancy, and her friend held up a sign comically asking to “Sing her into labor.” Keith Urban immediately invited the two of them on stage, took pictures with them, and stated jokingly in his Aussie accent, “I’m not going to sing you into labor, though that would be interesting darling.” He then obliged the woman by singing a few verses from his hit song “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” The two women thanked him profusely and returned to their seats to continue enjoying the concert.
But the random acts of kindness didn’t end there. Most of the time, performers will briefly thank their band for their support along their tour. Keith Urban, however, gave each member of his band a moment in the spotlight, even showcasing the fact that many of them also sang. This was such an unexpected act of appreciation, and showed that Keith truly enjoyed working with his band and wanted them to also rise in the music industry.
Throughout the concert, Urban showcased his amazing guitar playing. As he switched to a smaller stage situated towards the back of the crowd (to cater to those with unfortunate seats in the back, also reminiscing about the small stages that gave him his start) he proceeded to remove his guitar, autograph it, and handed it to an adoring young girl in the audience. I’m sure that he must have inspired her that night, showing her that kindness is still present amidst the wealth and success that come with music stardom.
While I may not have been invited on stage or received an autographed guitar, Keith Urban also inspired me that night. In our country right now, we are surrounded by so much hatred and judgement, and constantly accusing people of abusing their privileges because of their economic statuses and only posing as being generous for the sake of good publicity. But I could tell that Keith Urban was being genuine. No one was asking him to perform these kind actions; he is already a well established and respected musician. Yet he continued to choose the right path, and truly appreciated his fans. He closed out the concert by thanking everyone for coming out to his concert that night, whatever their reason may be, and that he couldn’t wait to come back and play in Nashville on New Year’s Eve for free. He is not in this for only the money and the fame. He is in this for the wonderful people that he can connect to through his music. And for a non-country music fan like myself, this was a breath of fresh air. It was an amazing concert from a talented performer. I was truly happy to see that there still are truly genuine and kind hearted people that are in the public eye today. This concert was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.
