Keith Urban is an even bigger fan of Gretchen Wilson after starring in the new CBS TV show, The Road, with her and Blake Shelton. Urban is the headliner who all of the contestants open for, while Wilson serves as the tour manager. Shelton is serving as the executive producer, along with Taylor Sheridan.
Urban cites a grueling touring schedule while taping The Road, one that left him with little sleep and a lot of time on an airplane, as a perfect reminder of what artists deal with on a daily basis.
“I think that never changes, as far as the discipline required to do what we do,” Urban tells Us Weekly. “And it’s been great watching Gretchen handle them as well and give really good advice. [She’s] like Mama Bear, in the best way.”
Urban has been vocal in his praise of Wilson, and how she fills her role as a tour manager on The Road.
“She’s hilarious,” Urban tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “She’s the tour manager on the whole show. So her job is getting them in and out of hotels, and getting them to rehearsals.”
“She’s honest and tough as nails,” he continues. “She’s no bullsh– … Doesn’t care. Unfiltered. Perfect. That’s what you need in that role. And you live and die by their choices. No one’s telling them what to sing. They don’t have a stylist. They choose the cover. They have to do an original, and they gotta wow the crowd every night. It’s a lot of fun.”
How Gretchen Wilson Joined The Cast Of ‘The Road’
It was Shelton who hand-picked Wilson to be on The Road.
“Gretchen, she’s literally one of my favorite people in the music industry,” Shelton boasts at a recent press event. “Because she just doesn’t take any sh– from anybody, about anything. So when you’re looking for that person to represent the tour manager’s job, that character of the show…I don’t want to talk about anybody else. I want Gretchen. She can do this. She can be honest with people, and talk direct to them, in a way that’s meaningful, but you pay attention. There was nobody else for me than Gretchen to do that job.”
What Gretchen Wilson Says About Being On ‘The Road’
Wilson is thrilled to be part of The Road, 21 years after her debut Here for the Party album was released in 2004.
“For me, this has been a really amazing experience,” Wilson tells Us Weekly. “All the years that I’ve had that have kind of built me into who I am, and all the things that I’ve done on the road, I was able to bring that experience to it.”
“When you’re out there doing this for a living, you’re the one who doesn’t have a beer at 2:00 in the afternoon because you’re resting on the bus and you’re taking care of your instrument, your voice. [It’s] not just [about] how do you win this competition, but how do you take care of yourself and how do you have the longevity that a lot of it takes to endure in this business?”
The Road will also have Dustin Lynch, Little Big Town‘s Karen Fairchild, Jordan Davis and Brothers Osborne serving as guest mentors. The show premieres on October 19 on CBS.