Ahead of his cross-Canada tour later this year, Keith Urban treated fans to an intimate surprise performance at Toronto’s iconic Horseshoe Tavern last Monday. Playing for a packed house of 400, the Australian country music star delivered a raw, unfiltered experience.
“Doing these club dates, like the Horseshoe, is just reminding myself what to do in those places where there’s no production,” Urban told Q’s Tom Power the day after the show. “It’s do or die…. There’s no way to hide.”
Although Urban now commands arena stages, his roots lie in small gigs at Australian pubs, where he honed his craft starting as a teenager. Performing five nights a week in cover bands after dropping out of school at 15, he learned the art of captivating live audiences.
“My mum and dad would drive me to the gigs, and I’d play four hours, all covers, no originals,” Urban shared. Those years shaped his understanding of what songs resonate with crowds.
The Australian pub scene was a tough proving ground. Known for its rowdy audiences, Urban faced everything from harsh feedback to outright rejection. “If you suck, they let you know,” he said. The experience, though grueling, taught him resilience and conviction.
After moving to Nashville in 1992, Urban encountered a starkly different music culture. Polite audiences left him confused at first, as they rarely provided the candid feedback he had grown used to in Australia. His unique fusion of country, classic rock, and pop initially puzzled the Nashville scene but eventually broke through with his 2002 hit, Somebody Like You.
Keith Urban’s journey from gritty pub stages to global stardom is a testament to his grit and innovation. His latest album, High, is out now, and his cross-Canada tour begins in June, with a Toronto kickoff and dates across the country in September.
Source: Swifteradio.com
