Keith Urban is helping aspiring Australian singers make their way to Nashville. Urban, who was born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, is launching the Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship. Urban announced the news while performing at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, as part of his global High and Alive World Tour.
“Sometimes all a musician needs is an opportunity to be heard or someone to help nurture their talent,” Urban says. “Having the opportunity to do that not only inspires me, but I’m also hoping that in some way this scholarship will serve to inspire others.”
Scholarship recipients will be able to come to Nashville, with “unprecedented access to Nashville’s music scene – a chance to perform, write, record, meet industry personnel and enjoy two days of recording time at Urban’s recording studio, The Sound (formerly the legendary Tracking Room),” per a press release.
Urban is launching the Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship in partnership with Tamworth Festival.
“Keith is the living embodiment of the Tamworth Festival pathway to success,” says Peter Ross, Executive Manager of Tamworth Festival. “And together we want to help give other artists the opportunity to take Australian country music to the world. It’s wonderful that Keith continues to recognise and support the industry that helped shape his career.”
Applications for the Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship are available here.
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Keith Urban’s Move To Nashville From Australia
Urban moved to Nashville from Australia in 1989, fueled by his dreams of country music stardom. His dreams ultimately came true, but he now admits it was anything but easy at first.
“I still drive down 16th and into Music Row and it’s like time evaporates. And I’m right back, driving down the exact same avenue to go to a songwriting session,” Urban tells the Associated Press. “I was writing five days a week at MCA Publishing over there, and on one hand, it was an excruciatingly tough time for me because it wasn’t really how I wrote songs: sitting in a room with a complete stranger, a couple of legal pads, and acoustic guitars in a windowless room. That’s kind of how it was done back then.”
“It was such a training ground for me, I guess, because I was kind of forced into an environment that wasn’t natural to me,” Urban says. “But I learned so much from it about songwriting. As tough as it was, it’s probably where I learned the most about songwriting.”
In 2023, Urban was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Keith Urban’s Next Album
Urban has a Top 25 hit with “Straight Line,” from his latest HIGH album, released last September. He is already working on a new project, this one a live record. He recently released “Long Hot Summer” from his next set of tunes.
“Long Hot Summer,” first released in 2011 from his Get Closer record, was written by Urban and Richard Marx.
Urban has yet to reveal a title or release date for his live album. Find “Long Hot Summer,” and all of Urban’s music and upcoming shows, at KeithUrban.com.
Photo Credit: CMA / Natasha Moustache