Keith Urban Says The Audience Is ‘Everything’ When It Comes To Live Shows

When it comes to performing live, Keith Urban doesn’t take a single moment for granted. With decades of touring under his belt, the country superstar has played to millions of fans across the world, and he knows just how special that connection between the artist and the audience truly is.

Whether he’s playing to a packed arena, an amphitheater, or an intimate crowd, Urban says it’s the fans who bring the energy and make every night unique. During a recent conversation, the former ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year opened up about just how important the audience is to the overall live experience, not just for the fans, but for him as well. 

”First of all, without the audience, it’s just one long soundcheck, so the audience is everything, everything,” Urban urged. “The audience has so much power to make or break a show. We as a performer can only do so much, and I’ve watched our audience night after night after night just give so much to me on stage. When that happens, you can just play forever. If we didn’t have curfews, we’d play way longer.”

Urban also recognizes how much goes in for fans attending concerts, including added expenses like babysitters and parking, so he wants to make sure he gives every crowd everything he’s got. 

“The other thing that I really am aware of, especially having kids, when you want to go to a concert, it’s a big deal. It’s not like going to the movies. It’s a very different thing (with) parking and babysitters and like, are we going to carpool and tickets… We’ve got to get there two hours to line up. It’s a big, big deal, and then parking — all the expenses, it goes through the roof,” he pointed out. “So, my want is to give them the greatest night and to give them everything I’ve got to not take that for granted.”

After spending over two hours fired up on stage, Keith Urban takes time to wind down once the crowd starts filing out. He says it takes about an hour to fully come down from the high of a show.

“I’ll come off stage and be so fired up and wired that I’ll sit on the bus just thinking, ‘Man, I’m not going to sleep for hours and hours. I couldn’t be more wide awake. I could go and play another show right now.’ And then an hour later, I’m just done. Everything. I’m done. I’m toast. It’s crazy,’ he said. 

A true road warrior, Urban is in the midst of his High and Alive World Tour with special guests Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins on select dates. The trek will come to a close on October 17 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.