Country

Keith Urban Announces New Album and Tour

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Keith Urban is big on surprises and he sure did surprise us all on Wednesday night during a free show at Exit/In in Nashville. Packing the venue to full capacity for what seemed like more than a free show, he certainly didn’t disappoint. This was indeed more than a free show. The Aussie country superstar took the stage, played a few songs and then announced something that everyone is freaking out over.

Urban took the show to the next level to announce a brand new album entitled Graffiti U and a World Tour by the same name. Not to mention, country’s newest princess Kelsea Ballerini will be joining him for 58 dates around the world. The tour will kick off June 15 in St. Louis, Missouri and go through to the end of the year.

Why Graffiti U? Well, Urban had a couple ideas in mind. “I was toying with the letter ‘U,'” he says. “Obviously it’s the first letter of my last name, but I liked that when you say it it’s also the word ‘You.’ For me that’s the listener, that’s the audience.”

The Graffiti part for him was more a feeling or sensation. “The sound of words is a big thing to me – Ripcord was like that, Fuse was like that. Fuse and Ripcord denoted a certain kind of energy in the word to me. ‘Graffiti to me felt very uninhibited, artistic, liberated expression. ‘Graffiti’ to me is a blank canvas and pure artistic expression upon that.”

Details surrounding the album and release date are still scarce, but fans can expect a definite follow-up from Ripcord. After the announcement and bringing Ballerini to the stage, Urban came back to perform some new tracks entitled “Same Heart” and “Steal My Thunder”.

Are you just as excited we are? We can’t wait for summer!

Graffiti U World Tour Dates

June 15 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 16 – Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortage Music Center
June 22 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
June 23 – Pittsburgh, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
June 27 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 29 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
June 30 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
July 5 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of NH Pavilion
July 6 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of NH Pavilion
July 8 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC
July 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
July 14 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 15 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
July 20 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 21 – Lake Tahoe, NV @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
July 22 – Lake Tahoe, NV @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
July 27 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
July 28 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
July 29 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Amphitheatre
Aug. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 4 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 5 – Bangor, ME @ Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Aug. 10 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Aug. 11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 12 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Aug. 15 – Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP
Aug. 17 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
Aug. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 19 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 25 – Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf Amphitheater
Aug. 26 – Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Sept. 7 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Sept. 8 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Sept. 14 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
Sept. 15 – London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens
Sept. 19 – Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place
Sept. 21 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre
Sept. 22 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
Sept. 23 – Calgary, AB @ ScotiaBank Saddledome
Sept. 25 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Sept. 27 – Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena
Sept. 28 – Boise, ID @ Taco Bell Arena
Sept. 29 – Missoula, MT @ Adams Center
Oct. 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
Oct. 5 – Laughlin, NV @ Laughlin Event Center
Oct. 12 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center
Oct. 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Oct. 14 – Grand Forks, ND @ Ralph Engelstad Arena
Oct. 18 – Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
Oct. 19 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
Oct. 20 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Oct. 24 – Youngstown, OH @ Covelli Centre
Oct. 25 – Hershey, PA @ Giant Center
Oct. 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
Oct. 28 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
Nov. 1 – Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
Nov. 2 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
Nov. 3 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center

For more information visit keithurban.net/events

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Kara Johnson is a writer who's interviewed artists from Keith Urban to Heffron Drive. When she's not writing for Stage Right Secrets, you can find her writing about Kelsea Ballerini and Taylor Swift. Follow her on Twitter @AlotLikeKara