Urban benefit gig leads to Opry invite
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Urban benefit gig leads to Opry invite

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 – Keith Urban got a little bit more than he bargained for at his All for the Hall concert in Nashville tonight. The concert featured a bevy of stars with the goal of raising money for the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Urban also managed to get an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry from Vince Gill. Urban will be inducted April 21. New Zealand-born and Australian-raised, Urban will be the first artist from outside North America to become an Opry member.

Near the end of tonight's show, Gill called Rascal Flatts back out on stage to bring a gift for Urban. As Urban opened a large black duffel bag revealing the Opry's signature microphone stand, Gill said, "We would like to invite Keith Urban to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry."

Urban covered his face in surprise as he began, "I don't know what to say - but first, yes. Thank you very much to everybody at the Grand Ole Opry who made this possible. I'm shocked. How beautiful for this to happen tonight of all nights."

"I will always remember the first time I played the Opry," Urban continued, "Seeing this stand and standing in the circle was an extraordinarily surreal moment. So this right here is just a whole other stratosphere. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"We are extremely excited that another of today's most popular country music superstars will be joining our Opry family," said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. "Keith has become a master at forging a unique musical path and building an incredibly successful career. He generates amazing enthusiasm from fans every time he plays the Opry, and he continuously demonstrates the deep regard he has both for the Opry and the entire country music community."


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CD reviews for Keith Urban

CD review - High Following hits "Straight Line," "Wildside" and "Go Home W U" featuring Lainey Wilson, Keith Urban drops thematically driven and pleasantly electrifying album "High," a nearly four-year drop since 2020's "The Speed of Now Part 1." Urban took great interest in feelings and experiences associated with the word "high," reflecting on his own passions approaching the sensation or "place of utopia" as Urban dubs it . ...
CD review - THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1 It's getting tougher and tougher all the time to justify categorizing Keith Urban's music as country. "The Speed of Now, Pt. 1" doesn't help. (What, is there a pt. 2 of this largely lame music on the way? Say it ain't so!) It's a relatively good pop album, for a Nashville pop effort, but there's just too much real country (Jon Pardi, Luke Combs) getting played on mainstream radio these days. The world just doesn't really need new Urban pop music. ...
CD review - Graffiti U It's telling how two songs on Keith Urban's "Graffiti U" album chug along to a reggae beat because pop rhythms and non-country elements are the obvious inspirations for this collection. Opener "Coming Home" may borrow (steal?) a guitar riff from Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried," but this is where that country road begins and ends. Urban follows "Coming Home" with "Never Comin' Down," which is introduced with a funky bass line ...


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