Country's Keith Urban Plays At Drive-In Movie Theater

Country music star Keith Urban performed a surprise live show at a drive-in movie theater in Nashville in a test drive for how concerts might look in the era of social distancing.

Reuters reports Urban, on stage with just one other musician, played at the Stardust Drive-In outside Nashville Thursday night for about 200 frontline local healthcare workers who watched from their cars.

NOW SHOWING - URBAN UNDERGROUND 🎬
A huge THANK YOU to all @VUMChealth frontline workers who attended tonight's special show at the drive in! @VUMChealth @VUMCchildren @LiveNation @stardustdrivein #frontline pic.twitter.com/E7BfOQL7dQ

— Keith Urban (@KeithUrban) May 15, 2020

It was thought to be the first major live music show of its kind in the United States following the cancellation of hundreds of concerts and tours and the closure of large venues in March because of the coronavirus epidemic.

“It was a lot of fun,” Urban, who was named entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music last year, told the “Today” show on Friday.


“We didn’t know what to expect. For some degree, from a performance standpoint, it was a bit of a proof-of-concept show as well as to figure out what works, what doesn’t,” he added.

Urban played for about an hour to an audience in about 125 vehicles, who sat inside or on the hoods of their cars, according to video posted of the event. The 125 cars represented about half the normal capacity for the drive-in movie theater, organizers said.

Urban said he and band mate Nathan Barlowe, on guitar and keyboard, played live as well as to recorded tapes of his songs in what he called “really like karaoke.”