Keith Urban’s exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame opened a few weeks ago but on Tuesday evening, it was the first look for the country music star that had been out on the road. Urban mentioned several times that the journey took much longer than he expected stating, “I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was. Whether it was being naïve or blind faith, whatever it was, I really felt like I could get in here and do this and when it didn’t happen, I didn’t know what to do. I just thought about keeping going because it must be around the corner, but they kept moving the corner.”
When asked what he thought about his exhibit, he said “It’s overwhelming, it’s like looking at your life.”
Urban grew up in Australia with a father who instilled the love of music as his father was also a performer. Urban dreamed of living in Nashville and would often be found listening to Johnny Cash and Don Williams. He even said, “for me all roads lead to Don Williams.”
Urban recalled a piece of encouragement he received from a record executive at 12th and Porter. He asked the executive why he couldn’t get a record deal. “And he said, ‘Because you’re really unique and it will be your biggest curse until it becomes your greatest blessing.’ That piece of advice on that night from that guy … was exactly what I needed to go the rest of the distance.”
Keith Urban So Far is on display now at the Country Music Hall of Fame until May 2016. In the exhibit you will find what he calls his most prized possessions-a postcard he wrote to his parents when he was about 8-years-old, along with his Grammy Awards, performance outfits, guitars that were recovered from the flood, his albums of inspiration and much, much more.
Urban has sold over 20 million albums, had 20 #1 hits, received 4 Grammy awards, 17 BMI awards along with a membership to the Grand Ole Opry. Learn more about the Country Music Hall of Fame on their website.
