Keith Urban has added another band member, ahead of his High and Alive World Tour, and it’s someone fans already know. Runaway June‘s Natalie Stovall reveals she will be touring with Urban, as much as her schedule allows.
“A couple weeks ago I got a text that I never could have seen coming,” Stovall reveals. “I got the invite to play and sing in the band alongside one of my Mt. Rushmore artists. Keith. Flippin’. Urban!!! So in addition to all of our Runaway June shows, I will be on stage with Keith and the guys at every show I can squeeze in!”
Stovall, who also interviews guests backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, recalls her first time meeting Urban, when his career was just beginning to take off.
“The first time I saw Keith play, he was the opener on a radio show with Jamie O’Neal and Lonestar, and I was blown away by his passion on stage ,and I had NEVER seen anyone play their instrument like that. I can’t wait to stand on his right every night and absorb all I can from one of the greatest to ever do it. Don’t worry, I’ll sleep next year! See y’all out there!!!”
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Stovall is one of a few new band members Urban is bringing out on tour. Earlier this year, the “Straight Line” singer explained his decision to replace a few of his band members, including some who had been with him for a long, long time.
“I’ve always just followed the inner voice that says it’s time to make a change, in any area of my life, and sort of just leap. Just take the leap,” Urban said. “I don’t always know where I’m going. It’s a little bit like playing live on stage. I don’t always know what I’m going to do next. There’s something exhilarating about living that way, and about performing that way.
“Again, we’ve been really lucky with this band,” he continued, “because we’ve got these five shows in February in Vegas that we got to do as a new band, and get some shows under our belt, before we get into rehearsals for our tour. I’m really looking forward to getting out with the new band, new songs, new production, new everything.”
Urban’s High and Alive World Tour is his first big tour since his Speed of Now World Tour in 2022. Urban is eager to begin the tour, working hard to create a night his fans will never, ever forget.
“People don’t have to know every song, they just have to be well placed,” Urban said. “The energy and the theme have to be suitable for that part of the evening in that playlist. We’re a boombox that needs to be playing the right things at the right time, in the right order for them. Know them, don’t know them isn’t as important as is that the right feeling. We’ll find that balance of choosing our moments to go for a ride. ‘Cause all you’re trying to do is create a really great evening, so they go home and they go, ‘God, that was a lot of fun.’”
Urban’s High and Alive World Tour begins tonight (May 22) in Orange Beach, Alabama. Find music and tour dates at KeithUrban.com.