Exclusive: Keith Urban on Returning to Las Vegas and the “Amazing Feeling” of Bringing People Together 

Keith Urban sees music as a unifier, something he channels into his Las Vegas Residency

Videos by American Songwriter

Throughout his more than three-decade career, Urban has experienced the power of live music performing for audiences across the world. Having recently wrapped up his 2022 The Speed of Now World Tour, Urban is set to return to Las Vegas for his residency at Planet Hollywood in June 2023. But regardless of where he’s playing, Urban says his love for performing stems from a desire to bring people together. 

“I just love performing – I’ve realized it actually doesn’t matter where it is, for me, it’s just a chance to be on stage and bring everybody together for two hours,” Urban expresses to American Songwriter “[Having] that chance on stage to play for people that not only may not have anything in common but may actually think they just don’t like each other.

“There’s all kinds of these separations right now and I feel very blessed that our audiences [are] full of all kinds of people from all walks of life all ages, all ethnicities all political persuasions. I know because I can see it in the crowd and I meet a lot of them. So I love the fact that for two hours I can literally have them all singing the same song. That’s an amazing feeling.” 

The residency launched in March 2023 and he’ll return to the venue on June 16 with 16 shows taking place across June, July and November.

“I particularly love the show we get to do right now because it’s crazy high energy, which is right up my alley,” he continues of the residency that he says offers “another chance” for him to bring diverse audiences together. “That’s the number one reason I love what I get to do.” 

In the midst of getting ready for Vegas, Urban is also actively writing and getting into rooms with people he has written with before, including Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay. He also co-wrote Tyler Hubbard’s latest hit single, “Dancin’ in the Country.”

“Discovering new, collaborative compatibilities with people that [I’ve] never worked with, ‘Let’s jump in room and see what happens,’ that’s always exciting for me,” Urban proclaims. “So I’m doing a lot of that right now.” 

Tickets for the Las Vegas Residency are available now. 

Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CMT

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