Keith Urban Explains Importance of ‘CMA Fest’

Keith Urban is just one of a number of artists whose performance during the annual CMA Fest will be broadcast on the televised ABC special, airing Wednesday, August 8. The four-day festival is a reminder to Urban to celebrate the things that are most important in life.

“You can go out there and 70,000 people can agree on something for an hour or so,” Urban tells ABC News Radio. “That’s amazing. I mean that never happens. Even at a sporting event, it’s split 50/50. You know what I mean?”

“Everybody’s on board,” he adds. “They’re all in the zone, and they’re all literally singing the same song. It’s beautiful.”

CMA Fest is also a way for Urban to give back to an organization who has supported not only him, but musicians all over the world.

“Well, No. 1, for the fans, who come from all over the world to be here,” the 50-year-old says explaining why he comes back year after year. “And it’s an amazing week for them. But for me personally too, I love the work that all of the CMA Board and all of the Foundation do. You know, they’ve been very good to me over the years, and it’s my tribe.”

Urban is currently on his Graffiti U Tour, which he just announced will head to his native Australia in January, with his “Coming Home” collaborator, Julia Michaels, serving as his opening act.

“I heard her EP [Nervous System] a while back,” Urban shares, recalling how he initially met the pop star. “She put out a song called ‘Issues,’ and I loved it, and then I got her EP and there’s maybe just seven or eight songs on it, but I literally loved every single song on that record, and I thought I just [had] to figure out if I can write with her someday.”

“Coming Home” just became Urban’s 24th No. 1 hit. The song was inspired by Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried,” so Urban included Haggard as a songwriter, making the Hag’s first chart-topping single in more than 30 years.

It’s a huge thing,” Urban tells PopCulture.com and other media. “That’s a whole thing with his family. They were the first people I texted when I found out that the song had gone number one. Theresa and Ben were the first two people I reached out to say thank you. For that, it meant the world to me.”

Download “Coming Home” on iTunes. Find a list of all of Urban’s upcoming shows by visiting KeithUrban.net.

CMA Fest will air at 8:00 PM ET on ABC on Wednesday, Aug. 8.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Sara Kauss