Keith Urban is bidding farewell to two of his band members ahead of his High and Alive World Tour. In two separate social media posts, longtime bass player and band leader, Jerry Flowers, as well as multi-intsrumentalist Nathan Barlowe, both reveal they have exited his band.
Flowers shared a heartfelt post announcing the news, while also revealing the decision wasn’t his to leave Urban.
“It’s with a heavy but very full heart that after 25 years on stage with Keith Urban, Keith has decided to make a lineup change and I will no longer be in the band,” Flowers writes. “I have and always will have the utmost respect and love for Keith and I treasure the amazing years we had together. I want to thank all the fans that have showed me so much love for so many years and I hope I was a small part of bringing you joy and happiness [through] our shows. Now I’m going to open myself up to new opportunities and I’m excited to see what’s next for me.”
View this post on Instagram
Barlowe was with Urban for almost a decade. He declines to say whether the decision was his or Urban’s.
“What is it they say about ‘All Good Things?….” Barlowe writes. “Sadly, my time with Keith Urban has come to an end. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for the last nine years. I have loved every second of it and given [it] my all. Thank you Keith for believing in me. Thank you to the GMT family! I love you, and it has been an honor to share laughs, memories, stages, planes, buses, and bars with you all over the world,” he adds. “I’ll carry you with me forever. What A Time.”
Flowers also commented on Barlowe’s post, writing, “As big as your talent is your personality is even more impressive. You’re such a good friend and I’ve loved every second on stage with you!”
Interestingly, Flowers is a co-writer on Urban’s new single, “Straight Line.” The song, from his latest HIGH album, follows Urban’s recent hit, “Messed Up As Me,
“It’s a song that is really about recognizing that life can sometimes just become monotonous and routine,” Urban says of the song. “For me too, for so many people, it can happen slowly. You’re doing your job, you’re showing up Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday, whatever it is, day in, day out. It’s like rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. You’re doing it and you’re being responsible, but slowly but surely you’re like, ‘My life is not so great. It used to be really fun. What the hell happened?’
“Because it’s life,” he continues. “You got to work. You’ve got to pay the bills, you’ve got to take care of things, but it can start to lack color and I wanted a song that was like an alarm clock going off to kind of wake up all of us and reclaim our life really. That’s what ‘Straight Line’ is about.”
The news comes as Urban is ready to kick off a busy year of performing. He will perform at RodeoHouston on February, 8, followed by the second half of his HIGH in Vegas residency. Urban’s High and Alive World Tour begins on May 22. He will be joined on tour by Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins. Find tour dates at KeithUrban.com.