Keith Urban didn’t light up the grandstand stage at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday; he asked his fans.
Towards the end of his performance, the country music star turned off the lights on stage and asked 13,711 in the audience how they could get to see him and his band.
“Iowa is proof that what we can’t do alone. We definitely can do it together,” Urban said as cellphone lights grew brighter at night. “Don’t fall for the divide and conquer thing, guys. We’re better off together.”
After years of waiting, thousands of Urban fans got a bit of everything from the country artist on Saturday night.
Urban had been announced as a performer in the 2021 stand, but had to cancel, replaced by Dan + Shay. He had also planned to perform at the 2020 State Fair which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Urban played in central Iowa before including a performance at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines in late 2013.
During a night on stage filled with dazzling lights and adrenaline-filled chords, the Aussie singer performed his hits including ‘Wild Hearts’, ‘John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16’ and ‘Somewhere In My Car”.
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Ingrid Andress opened for Urban, previewing several of the new songs from her upcoming album, “Good Person,” which drops Friday.
“I had a really big turkey leg today and I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. I was delicious though,” Andress told the crowd after mentioning the performance marked her first. participation in the State Fair. “Guess I’ll have to come back.”
Andress, who had previously traveled through central Iowa for the 2021 Big Country Bash, performed “More Hearts Than Mine” and “Wishful Drinking,” a collaboration with Sam Hunt, as well as “Waste of Lime” and “Falling For You,” a song she said she had never performed in front of an audience before.
“We used to stay in Des Moines all the time because my dad was a strength coach for Major League Baseball, so we had to drive from Colorado,” Andress said.
“Des Moines holds a special place in my heart because it usually meant we had KFC for dinner and we could swim in an indoor pool. So that was a highlight of our road trips, which is saying a lot on me honestly.”
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Urban presented one of the traditions of “The Speed of Now World” tour at the State Fair.
“Every night when we get to track 10, we do a different song, a random song,” Urban explained as a digital wheel spun to the song “Say Something.” “Because you all want to hear different things…we could be here for three days playing music.”
As the crowd roared in approval at the prospect of Urban’s 72 Hours, the musician joked, “OK, I’ll call home and tell them I’ll be a little late.”
The concert ended with a fireworks display, and after confetti showered the audience, the stage lights remained on as Urban and his band bowed.
Isaac Hamlet covers arts, entertainment and culture at the Des Moines Register. Contact him at [email protected] or 319-600-2124, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet.
