Keith Urban Brings Impressive RipCord World Tour to Nashville

Keith Urban delivered a set filled with boundless energy and enthusiasm at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Friday night (Nov.11). 

Written by Chuck Dauphin
Keith Urban Brings Impressive RipCord World Tour to Nashville
Photo courtesy Country Music Association

Just like Brett Favre, gunslinging the ball down the field in a shootout for the Green Bay Packers, or the Chicago Cubs taking things all the way in the World Series recently, Capitol Nashville recording artist Keith Urban leaves everything on his respective field of choice – the stage.

The singer performed in front of a capacity crowd at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Friday night (Nov. 11), and as he always does, Urban delivered a set filled with hits with his usual boundless energy and enthusiasm. As his Ripcord World Tour continues toward its final American apex next week in Brooklyn, NY, (he has some dates in his native Australia next month) Urban simply did what he does best – entertain, and he does that well!

Kicking off with “Gone Tomorrow (Here Today),” the singer rolled out one smash hit after another, and possibly more than any A-List artist, he never fails to get the audience involved in the show. After rolling smoothly through hits such as “Break On Me,” “Long Hot Summer” and the perennial favorite “Where The Blacktop Ends,” the singer took a quick look in the audience at some of the signs. One caught his eye. “Sing me into labor,” the sign said, so Urban brought the fan – eight months pregnant – onto the stage. After being told the baby was going to be a boy, Urban asked her if there was anything she wanted to hear, to which she responded “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” but with a simple change of wording to “Blue Is Your Color.” The fans roared with approval. He later performed the song – his current single – the way it was written, and the performance made for one of the highlights of his set.

From the riveting energy displayed through such show-stoppers as “You Look Good In My Shirt” and “You Gonna Fly,” the singer was definitely in a zone in front of his hometown crowd. He teamed up with opening act Maren Morris for the Miranda Lambert duet “We Were Us,” and paired up with Brett Eldredge for a pulsating and energetic romp through “Somebody Like You” – which is one of those rare songs that continues to be sonic ear candy, even after fifteen years. He also can deliver on the instrumental jams like nobody in the business, as he can do things with a guitar that you have never see, including playing his licks with….a drumstick (Trust me, you’d have to be there.)

A photo posted by JC Bowman (@1jcbowman) on

For his encore, the singer toned it down with acoustic versions of “Stupid Boy” and “Making Memories Of Us,” before bringing out surprise guest Eric Church to the stage. The two collaborated on Church’s “Record Year” as well as their duet hit “Raise ‘Em Up.” As the old showbiz saying goes, you always want to leave your audience wanting more, and suffice to say, Keith Urban did just that. He could have played all night, and nobody in downtown Nashville would have minded one bit.

Opening the show were Morris and Eldredge, respectively – two artists that are quickly approaching the next level in their careers. Morris – fresh off her New Artist of the Year honor at the CMA Awards – hit all the right notes with a too-brief set that included her his “80’s Mercedes” and “My Church,” but she also delivered flawless performances of album cuts “Sugar,” “Drunk Girls Don’t Cry” and the hilarious “Rich.” The award from last week – plus the response from the Urban tour- has given her confidence to spare, and she combines that personality with a little bit of sass to prove why she is on her way up the star meter.

Eldredge – working a second tour with Urban – proved that he is also more than ready to take it to the next level. From the whiskey-drenched vocal on “Drunk On Your Love” and “Mean To Me,” the Illinois native kept fans on their feet with an endless supply of hits, such as “Don’t Ya,” “Beat Of The Music,” and the exhilarating “You Can’t Stop Me,” a track from his current album where he collaborates with Thomas Rhett. The two combined forces for a co-headlining tour last year, but the time is now for the singer to make that jump to headlining stage in his own right. He’s got the stage moxie, the performance, and more importantly – the songs to pull it off. He’s obviously learned a lot from Urban, and it is time to put those lessons to work!