Keith Urban is not a rule-follower, at least in country music. The 57-year-old has been an outspoken proponent of artists not adhering to any specific rules or guidelines, something he says is especially important for new artists.
“Everybody finds their own way of breaking through, and all I know is that there are no rules,” Urban maintains to CMT. “There are zero rules. Rip up any rule book, because somebody will break through that defied every single thing that you weren’t supposed to do. ‘They wrote the song like this.’ ‘Well, it was written wrong. It was recorded wrong. It was sung wrong. They looked wrong.’ All this stuff, and then it’s a massive hit. So just create. Create create create.”
This isn’t the first time Urban has suggested artists stop adhering to limitations and restrictions. In a recent interview, the Grand Ole Opry member said that, although he hesitates to tell rising stars how to operate their career, he does offer this one piece of wisdom.
“I always hate giving advice because everyone’s got their own journey, and there are no rules,” Urban says (via radio station WKML). “That’s number one, there are no rules … That’s really what art is about. Art is about expressing truthfully. And everything they said you shouldn’t do, this person did, and it’s remarkable and unlike anybody else.”
Urban is back at radio with “Straight Line.” The song, which follows “Messed Up As Me,” is from his latest HIGH album.
“It’s a song that is really about recognizing that life can sometimes just become monotonous and routine,” Urban says. “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.”
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Urban is spending much of 2025 on his High and Alive World Tour, which includes dates in both the United States and Canada. The tour, which kicks off on May 22, will include at least two new band members. Both Urban’s longtime bass player and band leader, Jerry Flowers, as well as multi-intsrumentalist Nathan Barlowe, recently revealed on social media that they had left the band.
“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.”
Barlowe also shared his tenure with Urban was also coming to a close ahead of the upcoming tour.
“What is it they say about ‘All Good Things?….” Barlowe says. “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.”
Find music and tour dates at KeithUrban.com.