“I’m not sure what to do with my hands.” It might be surprising to hear Keith Urban channel a scene from Talladega Nights during an interview about his new album, but it perfectly illustrates the country star’s friendly and down-to-earth personality.
Urban’s Ricky Bobby impersonation reflects how lost he feels without his guitar—an instrument he’s featured holding prominently on the cover of his 11th studio album, HIGH. It’s a recurring theme in his art and press materials, showing just how deeply rooted his love for music and his guitar really is.
The new album, HIGH, which is poised to become a favorite among Urban’s body of work, touches on themes such as the challenges of love (“Love Is Hard”) and the feeling of displacement while growing up (“Heart Like A Hometown”). These subjects can be seen as parallels to a musician’s complicated relationship with their craft and the sense of community found in being part of a band.
“I’ve been with my guitar longer than anybody on the planet,” Urban reflects. “My guitar and I have a strong, intimate relationship. I hadn’t thought of it like that before, but now that you mention it, I’m sure it’s emotionally woven into my music.”
Urban, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame last year, is speaking the morning after an intimate performance at Lefty’s Music Hall in Brisbane—a far cry from the massive arena tour he recently announced for 2025.
He enjoys revisiting smaller club shows, explaining, “It’s as real as it gets. It’s where everything starts. Ground zero.”
At Lefty’s, Urban and his band gave fans a night to remember, performing hits and songs from HIGH, alongside covers like Cold Chisel’s “Flame Trees” and Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” responding to requests shouted from the audience. The energy was electric, from microphone feedback to the camaraderie of band members.
Still, Urban offers a realistic take on these club gigs. “I don’t miss anything about it,” he laughs. “Little clubs are great to play when you don’t have to. If you have to do it five nights a week, your relationship with it changes.”
HIGH offers a variety of moods, from party tracks like “Laughin’ All The Way To The Drank” to personal reflections in “Break The Chain.” The album also includes collaborations, such as “Go Home W U” featuring Lainey Wilson. At one point, however, HIGH was going to sound quite different.
In 2022, Urban started working on an album titled 615, which he ultimately scrapped. “I’ve never scrapped an album before,” he admits. “But I realized I want to be proud of what I’m going to tour for the next couple of years.”
The initial project had a narrower focus and leaned more into Nashville-centric, country sounds, but Urban felt it lacked the variety he’s known for. “It was quite linear. It was just one or two colors, and I missed all the other stuff.”
In HIGH, Urban brings out the depth that his music often carries, with intricate guitar work and rich vocal harmonies, as heard in “Heart Like A Hometown.” Songs like “Chuck Taylors” are sure to become fan favorites due to their carefully layered details.
“I love discovering something new in a song after multiple listens,” Urban explains. “It could be a subtle guitar riff or a reverb decay you didn’t notice before. Those tiny details are what I enjoy adding.”
While the recorded album is one version of each song, Urban sees live performances as a chance to explore and add dimension to his music. “Touring gives me the opportunity to take these songs further and place them in different contexts.”
Reflecting on previous tours, Urban notes that audiences sometimes appreciate his albums more after seeing them live. He recalls fans telling him they didn’t fully understand certain records until they heard the songs in concert, surrounded by other tracks that brought them into focus.
Urban relates this experience to his own history with live music, remembering how his opinion of a Kings of Leon album changed after seeing the band perform live. “Songs that didn’t initially click with me suddenly made sense. I went home, listened to the album again, and realized I loved those songs.”
HIGH is the kind of album that could captivate an audience if played in its entirety during a live show, and its final track, “Break The Chain,” would be a powerful closer.
In a letter about the album, Urban mentions that the sequencing of the songs is deliberate, with “Break The Chain” serving as a final statement. The song’s lyrics reflect Urban’s personal journey, particularly the second verse, which talks about overcoming challenges from his upbringing.
“That second verse was so powerful,” Urban shares. “I wrote it, and then I just started bawling my eyes out. I was sitting on this guy’s couch, and I barely knew him. It was such a raw moment.”
Urban understands that breaking negative cycles, especially those formed in childhood, isn’t easy. “You can choose to either perpetuate the cycle or break it. Both are hard.”
In his letter, Urban also expresses his love for the mystery of music, even after achieving numerous accolades and platinum albums. “I don’t want to understand it. Music is a mix of craft, skill, hard work, and sheer magic.”
He reflects on the unpredictability of songwriting, saying, “One day you write an amazing song, and the next, it’s a disaster. That’s the mystery of music, and that’s what keeps me coming back.”
