Keith Urban Performed in Saint Louis at the Speed of Wow Friday

–by Laura Tucker
On Friday night, fans packed the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater to spend the evening with Keith Urban, the multi-platinum country artist that seems to appeal to all genres and ages. Heās not only an incredibly talented, singer and songwriter, heās one of the best guitarists in the industry. Andā¦heās genuine. You can just feel the kindness he exudes when in his presence.
Like many of you, I have seen Keith perform on television plenty of times. Heās ever-present at award shows like the Grammyās (he has 4), Academy of Country Music Awards (15), the CMAās (13). He has even been awarded (6) wins by the Australian Recording Industry Association so I expected the show to be good. But man, this show was amazing!

Opening the night was Ingrid Andress who is one lucky little lady to find herself on tour with one of the best in the business. She is on her way to becoming a seasoned professional and was no stranger to the crowd. Her Lady Like album (very cool cover by the way) debuted in 2020 and the single āMore Hearts Than Mineā found its way to the Billboard Hot 100 at number 30 and earned her three Grammy nominations. The song is about introducing her new beau to the family but warning that if they donāt work out, he will break more hearts than just hers. I love it when a song makes that much sense.

But, according to allmusic.com, she also made an appearance on The Sing-Off in 2010 showing off her a cappella chops and has collaborated with the likes of Sam Hunt, Alicia Keys and Charlie XCX. Itās pretty clear, sheās well on her way to becoming a household name.
Touring for his current album, the Speed of Now, Part 1Ā Keith Urban appeared out of the fog in the center of stage and kicked off the night with the high-energy number āTumbleweedā and never slowed down from there.Ā In fact, he mentioned a few times that he was going to just keep playing and his show was a long one by live performance standards. He started at 8:30 and didnāt stop until well-over two hours later, playing at least 22 songs and giving fans an incredible experience. Actually, maybe his tours should be called the Keith Urban experience!

His Aussie accent, coy swagger, and good looks make it hard to look away but this killer guitar work makes it even harder. He said his parents gave him a ukulele at age four and he moved on to the guitar from there. Luckily, he also has a voice to support his mega-star career.
Song number three was āWild Heartsā and its lyrics tell the tale of his need to be a performer and encourages the dreamers, the drifters, the wild cards, and the wild hearts to follow that dream, too. I mean, we canāt all be Keith Urban but we appreciate the support!

At every show, something fun happens at song number ten. A wheel (like from the Price is Right) is brought out on stage and has the names of songs on it. Keith spins the wheel to see what song will be the winner for that slot. For us, it was āSweet Thingā and the choice couldnāt have been better.

Keith has collaborated with other artists such as Julia Michaels, Shy Carter, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, and Carrie Underwood (who got a cameo during āThe Fighterā on the big screen) and has had some pretty great results. His newest duet pairs him with pop goddess P!nk with āOne Too Manyā from his new album, and during this number the stage lights shined a bright shade of that famous color while she accompanied him on the big screen through technology.
Throughout the night, that same screen projected close ups of his guitar and his band mates but at some point moved to the lawn to pan the audience where they were singing and dancing and seemed to enjoy seeing a larger-than-life version of themselves.

Also on the lawn was Keith. After getting us all singing along to a snippet of āThank God Iām a Country Boyā by John Denver, he walked through the crowd to perch himself upon a stage on the āgrassā as he called it. He said to the lawn ticket holders, ānow youāre in the front rowā. He proceeded to play āYouāll Think of Meā and then showed his truly generous nature by removing his acoustic guitar, wiping the sweat away and signing it with a sharpie. He then turned around and handed it to a girl in the audience. I can only imagine the absolute thrill that probably kept her awake for the rest of the night. Throughout the show, he also threw guitar picks into the crowd, leaving little bits of happiness to take home.
Back down front, he took a moment to share his guilty pleasure song. You know, the one thatās probably kind of goofy but you just canāt help but like it. A few come mind (like the Proclaimerās 500 Miles for example or Loving You by Minnie Riperton (la-la-la-la-la). But for Keith Urban, itās āThe Lion Sleeps Tonightā by the Tokens. We all did our part to help him get this urge out of his system by singing along (a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh). He said, āI will lose my car keys but remember that songā. Yep, weāre right there with ya.

His shirt seemed to be saying something but what, wasnāt exactly clear. Mostly it just had black lined mark-though like a confidential document but at one point, he turned around to show the large- round magazine clip with a red circle and line through it. He simply said something like, āIāve had enoughā and kept going. Yes. Message received!
I just happened to notice the time and right at 10:10 pm, he said āwhat if the lights went out due to a glitch and all we had was you? The lights did go out and the audience was happy to light the way with cell phones while he played the huge hit āBlue Aināt Your Colorā. He somehow makes you feel like he cares about every single person there. And at this show, blue, is not an option.

I can only say this from my Keith Urban experience. Country fan or not, you owe it to yourself to catch this live show when you get the chance.
Check out the gallery below the setlitst.
Keith Urban Setlilst:
Tumbleweed
Days Go By
Wild Hearts
Somewhere in My Car
Joun Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
Kiss a Girl
Brown Eyes baby
Where the Blacktop Ends
Long Hot Summer
Sweet Thing
You Gonna Fly
God Whispered Your Name
You Look Good in My Shirt
One Too Many
Thank God I’m A Country Boy (John Denver cover)
Better Life (Snippet)
You’ll Think of Me
Somebody Like You/ The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Blue Ain’t Your Color
The Fighter
Wasted Time
Encore:
Stupid Boy