Keith Urban has a very specific process when it comes to picking out his setlist. In a recent press release, the country singer, who recently kicked off his High and Alive Tour, gave insight into how he picks which songs to sing at his shows.
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According to Taste of Country, who obtained the press release, Urban doesn’t cut corners when choosing which of his songs to play for live audiences.
“I put a playlist together and listen to the songs back-to-back-to-back and just feel the flow from one song into the next — energy-wise, thematically, the key, tempo, everything,” he said.
As one would imagine, this isn’t a speedy process.
“I spend months and months over setlists tweaking, coming back to it every couple of days, looking at it,” Urban said.
During this time, Urban said he tries to imagine how the audience will feel during the show.
“Is the audience gonna be exhausted right about here? This would be a good time for a ballad,” he said of his thought process. “This would be a good time to strip it down to an acoustic song and then BOOM right back out of the gate again.”
The setlist conversation doesn’t end once the tour kicks off. Rather, Urban said he does “keep making changes as the tour unfolds” based on how the audience responds to songs night after night.
Keith Urban Made Big Changes Before His Tour
Before he set off on the road, Urban made waves when he fired three of his longtime band members: drummer Terence F. Clark, keyboardist Nathan Barlowe, and guitarist and band leader Jerry Flowers.
“It feels really good. I’ve always followed the inner voice that says it’s time to make a change in any area of my life and sort of just take the leap,” Urban told Country Now. “I don’t always know what I’m going to do next. And there’s something exhilarating about living that way and about performing that way. So again, we’ve been really lucky with this band.”
Urban added, “I’m really looking forward to getting out with the new band, new songs, new production, new everything.”
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Grand Ole Opry
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