Keith Urban show recap: Nicole, Reese, Carrie and other moments you missed

Keith Urban knows how to create an on-stage moment.

Urban brought his Graffiti U World Tour that also features Kelsea Ballerini to a sold-out Bridgestone Arena Friday night. If fans came to hear a couple of hours of hit songs, watch him run through the crowd and give away a guitar – which he does at nearly all his concerts – they got that and a whole lot more.

Urban wasted no time getting started, and he captivated his audience for more than two hours.

Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon

Urban opened the show with his groovy, percussive new single “Never Comin’ Down.” The progressive, edgy track is stacked with beatboxing and a building chorus that is a sonic match for Urban’s vibrant, angular stage and screens. From there, Urban rewound 14 years to pick up crowd favorite “Days Go By” and then brought fans right back to the present with his most recent hit single “Coming Home.”

However, home on Friday night extended past the single.

“We are home, finally,” he told fans. “It feels very, very nice to be home.”

Urban grabbed some binoculars and a spotlight and spent a few minutes reading signs audience members brought to the show. A sign that proclaimed love for Urban’s wife Nicole Kidman caught his attention and he brought the two women, who had driven to Nashville from North Carolina, on stage. Then he shocked them and the crowd by first bringing Kidman on stage and then her co-star in “Big Little Lies” Reese Witherspoon.

“If we’re going to be in Nashville, we should meet some Nashvillians,” Urban said, then asked Witherspoon how she was when she stepped into the spotlight.

After Witherspoon hugged the fans, she good-naturedly quipped: “If I’d known I was coming on stage, I would have worn a different outfit.”

When Urban asked if Kidman and Witherspoon wanted to sing, his wife adamantly shook her head.

“Oh my God, no,” Witherspoon responded. “We came to hear you sing.”

Then Urban and the actresses took a selfie with the North Carolina fans.

Later in the show, Kidman enthusiastically waved her arms in the air, danced and sang as Urban ripped through his stable of hits.

Carrie Underwood 

Continuing his ‘meet Nashvillians’ theme, Urban was in the midst of “The Fighter” when Underwood strutted on stage to slay her vocal part in their No. 1 hit. When Urban crooned the lyrics “so beautiful” in the song, Underwood laughed and rubbed her visibly pregnant belly. Urban left Underwood on the main stage while he waded through the packed arena to his illuminated U-shaped stage near the back of the floor seats. He told fans all they had to do was sing like Carrie Underwood. She smiled and mouthed, “it’s easy.”

After the song, Underwood disappeared backstage and Urban used the opportunity to revisit perennial fan favorites including “Kiss a Girl” and “Who Wouldn’t Want to Be Me.”

Kelsea Ballerini

Ballerini has been Urban’s support act the entire tour and she remerged during his set to cover Miranda Lambert’s vocals on their hit “We Were Us” – which she did with poise and sass.  Wearing a Predators jersey, sparkly booties and no visible pants, Ballerini proved she can work an arena crowd and only needs half of a song to make them fall in love.

Kassi Ashton

Country newcomer Kassi Ashton confidently worked the drum platform as if the approximate 12,000 people bought tickets to see her perform. Ashton, who is featured on “Drop Top,” on “Graffiti U,” has a prom-queen-on-a-dirt-bike image. Her distinct husky, powerful voice and self-assured take-me-or-leave-me attitude put her in her own lane in country music.   

Larkin Poe

Larkin Poe, a gritty roots rock sister act out of Atlanta, was introduced to Urban by actor Russell Crowe. The Australian singer was so taken with sisters Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell that he invited them on tour. Their appearance came with aggressive harmonies on “Where the Blacktop End,” a driving mandolin jam and a jaw-dropping guitar battle between Urban and lap steel player Megan Lovell.

Tennessee State University Marching Band

Crowd favorite “Wasted Time” was Urban’s last song before the encore and he told fans he couldn’t leave them without one more ridiculous moment. During the song, The Tennessee State University marching band high-stepped their way onto the stage, horns blaring, to create the night’s most fitting spectacle. Confetti shot out of cannons and filled the air as the band’s drum major dropped into the splits on stage.

Songs and the Grand Ole Opry microphone

Every song didn’t have a special guest, but Urban and his band strived to make every offering stand alone. He dedicated an acoustic version of “Stupid Boy” to singer/songwriter Sarah Buxton. “You Gonna Fly,” “Long Hot Summer,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Cop Car,” and “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” had their own unique treatments. Through moving scrims, pulsating lights or the simplicity or a single beam shining on stage, the size, versatility and technical aspects of Urban’s set made it possible for each song to feel like an event. Drawing the show to a close, Urban brought out the Grand Ole Opry WSM microphone, his first solo hit “But for the Grace of God” and the sparkling fresh “Horses” from his “Graffiti U” album.

Keith Urban says thank you

“I know there’s a million concerts on, there’s like 87 things on HBO,” he said. “You guys have so many other things you could do. So, whatever it took for every one of you to come and see us play tonight, I thank you so much, Nashville. Because, it’s literally easier to nothing. But every single one of you chose to do something tonight, and I appreciate it more than you know.”