
Keith Urban Says First Show Since Losing Two Band Members Was Kind of Chaotic
Keith Urban recently let go of two of his longtime band members, bassist Jerry Flowers and multi-instrumental player Nathan Barlowe — but he didn't really account for their absence when he played two smaller club shows last week.
In a new interview with Q with Tom Power, Urban talks about the first gig without them, for which he called on some fill-ins. It didn't go super smoothly.
"I dismantled the band I had and I'm rebuilding a new one, but I haven't built it yet and I had a club show that came before I had a chance to build my band," Urban admits, referring to his Jan. 13 show at a club in Toronto called Horseshoe Tavern.
"So, we had a fill-in drummer and my keyboard player played bass, kind of like The Doors, ya know? We didn't have a bass player," the "Messed Up as Me" singer explains.
A few times, Urban says he had to remind his keyboard player that he was supposed to be doing double duty.
"I had to remind him to keep on going for it [the bass] because we were playing a song and I'm like, 'Where's the low end?' Then, I realize that the keyboard player has forgotten that he's got to play bass, too."
But as Urban has learned in his decades as an entertainer, sometimes, you just have to get through it. Or, as he puts it: "You can either play and entertain, or you're just gonna die."
The country superstar will need his new band to work quickly to learn the material, as he's got a full world tour planned. The 2025 High and Alive Tour launches in May, but Urban's schedule is loaded with February appearances ahead of that.
Fortunately, he says these non-tour gigs allow him to get some practice in and "make sure the bones of the songs are good."
Here Are 10 Things You Didn't Know About Keith Urban
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes