The singer's 'Speed of Now World Tour' will kick of June 17.
Keith Urban is ready to get back onstage! ET's Rachel Smith spoke with the 54-year-old country star ahead of the start of his Speed of Now World Tour, and he revealed how he plans to balance performing and his family while on the road.
Urban and his wife, Nicole Kidman, are parents to two daughters, Faith, 11, and Sunday, 13. He and his family try and sightsee when they join him on tour, though Urban pointed out that "it's tricky 'cause you think you’re on vacation until you realize you’re not."
Urban's family can't always be on the road with him, so the musician has started to revisit his "work-life balance," especially after spending so much time at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I’m lucky where I can do a few shows and come home for a few days. I’ve structured it so I can do that," he told ET. "It also keeps the shows fresh. I’ve been to plenty of shows where you can tell that person needs to take a break. We’ve all seen those shows and I never want to be that."
Despite the challenges of being on the road, Urban can't wait to play for his fans again.
"It’s what I love to do. It’s what I do," he said of performing. "... [There were about] 542 days between the last gig in 2020 and the first one in the beginning of '21. I’ve never not played that long since I was 13 years old."
Urban's eagerness to get back onstage is equal to his excitement about playing some of his new songs.
"I love playing anything new," he explained. "... This new music I've been working on, I'm very excited for people to get to hear it... I love a good chorus. I love hooks, I love riffs, I love a good rhythm."
As for the show itself, Urban said that he tries "to stay loose" beforehand and during the set.
"We come onstage with a certain idea of what we're going to do, it's structured, but it's huge amounts of flow and spontaneity. It’s what makes every show different," he said. "We can [decide] let’s play this one, let's flick it to this one, let's extend this bit. It’s got to be real, it’s got to be spontaneous."
"I just want to be in the moment and that is naturally going to be different every night. Being in the moment is everything," Urban added. "... Being in the moment with people that may not have anything else in common except this thing is happening right now and, more than ever, being able to be a part of that experience in any way, whether I'd be on the stage or in the audience is gold."
The musician additionally noted, "In the times we're in right now, with so much separation of vision on incommutable things, to bring everybody together for two hours and be in unison, be in sync is amazing."
Keith Urban's The Speed of Now World Tour will kick off June 17.
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