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

August 22, 2022August 22, 2022 Sean Derrick 0 Comments country concert, Keith Urban, Saint Louis concert review and photos

–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. He’s not only an incredibly talented, singer and songwriter, he’s one of the best guitarists in the industry. And…he’s 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. He’s ever-present at award shows like the Grammy’s (he has 4), Academy of Country Music Awards (15), the CMA’s (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!

Ingrid Andress performing at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Saint Louis Friday. Photo by Laura Tucker/Laura Tucker Photography.

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 “More Hearts Than Mine” 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 don’t 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. It’s pretty clear, she’s well on her way to becoming a household name.

Touring for his current album, the Speed of Now, Part 1 Keith Urban appeared out of the fog in the center of stage and kicked off the night with the high-energy number “Tumbleweed” and never slowed down from there. 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 didn’t 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 “Wild Hearts” 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 can’t 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 “Sweet Thing” and the choice couldn’t 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 “The Fighter” on the big screen) and has had some pretty great results. His newest duet pairs him with pop goddess P!nk with “One Too Many” 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 “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver, he walked through the crowd to perch himself upon a stage on the “grass” as he called it. He said to the lawn ticket holders, “now you’re in the front row”. He proceeded to play “You’ll Think of Me” 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 that’s probably kind of goofy but you just can’t help but like it. A few come mind (like the Proclaimer’s 500 Miles for example or Loving You by Minnie Riperton (la-la-la-la-la). But for Keith Urban, it’s “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” 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, “I will lose my car keys but remember that song”. Yep, we’re right there with ya.

His shirt seemed to be saying something but what, wasn’t 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, “I’ve had enough” and kept going. Yes. Message received!

I just happened to notice the time and right at 10:10 pm, he said “what 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 “Blue Ain’t Your Color”. He somehow makes you feel like he cares about every single person there. And at this show, blue, is not an option.