Keith Urban is one of the biggest stars in country music, and he fell in love with the genre at a young age when he saw his very first concert. During a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Urban opened up about his musical upbringing, sharing that his dad’s love of country music led him to his first concert, which happened to be by country legend Johnny Cash.
“I realize it’s probably equal parts country music, which is what my dad loved,” Urban said. “That’s what we heard a lot in the house. Johnny Cash. I went to see … My family went to see Johnny Cash. My mum and dad and me and my brother. And I think I was five, my brother was seven. And off we trundled to see Johnny Cash, and that was my first concert. That’ll stay with you. And it was unlike anything I’d seen. It wasn’t country. It wasn’t rock. It wasn’t punk. It was all of them rolled into this … What is that? What’s going on? And the crowd was so loud and so drunk and full working class, and it was just like, wow. But also like you said, top 40 radio. Hooky songs, man. Riffs and hooks and phrases and guitar riffs and solos and rhythm and groove and memorable structure.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Today, Urban is a fan of artists from all genres, as is his wife, Nicole Kidman. “She’s got great taste in music because it has no… It’s always visceral,” he explained. “It’s just like, ‘I don’t know who the artist is. I don’t know what genre it is. I don’t know. I just love this song.’ Boom. That’s all that matters to her.” The Oscar winner’s inclusive attitude has also impacted her husband’s music. “What I’ve learned from her is to be more fearless in artistry and go for the curious place that you want to go to as an artist. Don’t question it.,” Urban said.
“You know, her whole thing is like, ‘I’m interested in that. I’m going to go over there,’” he explained. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, can I do it? Should I do it?’ None of that ever comes into it. She just goes towards something and I’m like, ‘Can you do that?’ She goes, ‘I don’t know, but I’m interested in that.’ That fearlessness, and it’s actually not even fearlessness. Fear doesn’t come into it. It’s only curiosity. It’s pure curiosity. She just goes without questioning it. That’s definitely had a big impact on my music in the last five, six years, particularly. Oh yeah. Yeah. I definitely married up.”
