In so many ways, Keith Urban was like so many young aspiring musicians who grow up dreaming of leaving a small town to chase their musical dreams in Nashville. His father Bob was drummer and passed his love of music down to his children. He spent hours honing his musical skills and listening to albums by Johnny Cash and Don Williams.

“For me, all roads lead to Don Williams,” Urban said, recalling the impact that Williams’ music had not only on his father, but on him. “My dad went and bought every record Don made the day it went on sale. I remember one day going to the record store with my dad and I remember saying to my dad, ‘What’s the single off this album?’ and he goes, ‘I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything off of it.’ I said, ‘Well how do you know it’s going to be good?’ He said, ‘It’s Don Williams.’ It hit me in such a way that I thought, ‘I want to make those kinds of records. I want to make records where people know it’s going to be solid.’”

“I had no plan and no timeframe, I just knew I would live in Nashville and make records. Off I went to my merry way to talent quests and various stages of learning how to be a musician,” recalled Urban.

However, for the Australia-raised Urban, his lifelong dream of coming to Nashville meant crossing international waters, instead of just state borders. Once in Nashville, the story became one of determination, struggle, failed record deals and personal setbacks. “I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was,” Urban said. “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.”

Before Urban, Jerry Flowers and Peter Clarke had signed Urban’s first American record deal as members of The Ranch, they were performing at Nashville’s 12th & Porter. Cliff Audretch, who worked at Sony at the time, was a frequent audience member at the shows. “We were standing there after the gig and I said, ‘Why can’t I get anywhere?’” Urban recalled. “He said, ‘Cause you are 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.”

Now, Urban’s story includes a successful solo career, more than 20 million albums sold, nearly 20 No. 1 hits, four Grammy awards, 17 BMI Awards and a Grand Ole Opry membership. The Country Music Hall of Fame is honoring Urban’s exceptional career thus far with an exhibition of Urban’s life and career alongside many of his musical heroes.

Urban was on hand last night (Dec. 2) at the Country Music Hall of Fame to preview the exhibit alongside many of those who were an essential part of his musical ascent, including Mary Martin, who was once the head of A&R at RCA Records. It was Martin who sent Urban a letter in the late 1980s when he was struggling for a record deal in Nashville, urging him to come to Nashville to pursue his dream, though his musical style didn’t fit the climate of country music at the time. “’I hope you can come to Nashville and find a good home.’ That’s what you wrote in the letter,” Urban told her. “I read it and went, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’ I just needed one person and you were it, so thank you.”

Keith Urban So Far…, which is open now to visitors at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, includes a chronicle of Urban’s career, including stage costumes he wore while fronting a cover band called California Suite while still in his teens, audio cassettes of “Got It Bad” and “Only You” from his 1991 solo debut on EMI Australia, to his Grand Ole Opry Induction trophy, and several Grammy, CMA, and ACM Awards. An array of guitars and stage outfits pepper the collection.

“It’s amazing the people I’ve gotten to know and work with, and I’m deeply grateful for that,” Urban told the crowd.

The Keith Urban So Far… exhibit will run through May 2016.

Brothers Osborne Toast Their New Album With Christmas Party

Carrying holiday cheer into East Nashville, Brothers Osborne celebrated the upcoming release of their debut album with a festive party at the Basement East on Tuesday night (Dec. 1). John and TJ Osborne spoke briefly from the stage to welcome the industry crowd, then previewed their album, Pawn Shop, over the sound system while guests (including labelmates Kacey Musgraves and Lauren Alaina) posed with friends in the photo booth and snacked on Christmas cookies. Featuring the hit single, “Stay a Little Longer,” Pawn Shop will be released on Jan. 15 on EMI Nashville.

 

Carrie Underwood Sings “Heartbeat” on UK’s The X Factor

Carrie Underwood performed her new single, “Heartbeat,” on the UK series, The X Factor, in London on Sunday (Nov. 29). She received a standing ovation from judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Rita Ora, and Nick Grimshaw. The song is the second single from Underwood’s new album, Storyteller.

 

Kip Moore Extends His Wild Ones Tour

Kip Moore will continue headlining his Wild Ones Tour in early 2016. The first stop of the 17-city tour will be Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Jan. 28, with dates scheduled through February 27 in Anaheim, California. The Cadillac Three and Chase Bryant will open shows on select dates.

“The feedback from the fans this fall has been so insane and we’re having so much fun that we’re just not ready to end this tour yet,” said Moore. “We live for our live show. That’s how this whole journey started and I’m looking forward to playing some of our favorite cities at the beginning of the year, as well as having my buddies from The Cadillac Three and Chase Bryant along for the ride.”

 

Griffin House Releases “Paris Calling” From Upcoming Album

Nashville singer-songwriter Griffin House has released a song titled “Paris Calling” to show his support after terrorist attacks in Paris. House studied in Paris as a college student and wrote the new song about living in Nashville, but dreaming about going back to France.

“For me, Paris will always be a place that can be described by three words: magical, surreal, and enchanting. My heart is in love there – in love with life itself. I celebrated the completion of my album with a return this summer to my favorite city on Earth,” says House. “I was so saddened by this awful tragedy and the suffering it has brought to such a beautiful city and their beautiful people. I send this song out to the people of Paris, who I know will not let this darkness get in the way of the joyous life that abounds in the City of Light.”

Griffin will donate all proceeds from the sale of the single “Paris Calling” through the end of the year to Secours Populaire, a non-profit organization that aims to fight against poverty and exclusion in France and throughout the world. House’s album, So On and So Forth, will be released on March 4.

For author Deborah Evans Price, Christmas has already arrived.

Her new book, Country Faith Christmas (Regnery Publishing), features 37 favorite Christmas memories, holiday traditions, and scriptures from country artists. Among the contributors are Luke Bryan, Dolly Parton, Florida Georgia Line, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Craig Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Canaan Smith. Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman provided a foreword for the book, along with her own favorite Christmas memory and recipe.

“I loved the idea of getting people to talk about their Christmas traditions, and favorite recipes and memories,” said Price, who has been recognized by the CMA and GMA for her achievements as a journalist.

“I love [the story of] Charlie Daniels giving [his wife] Hazel a bowling ball for Christmas back when they were first married and didn’t have much money. He worked some extra gigs and surprised her, ‘cause she was on a bowling team and didn’t have her own ball. I love that story. They have been married for 51 years now and are such a great couple. Charlie wrote four Advent devotionals. He knows the Bible and is a great Bible scholar and to have him sit down and write those, it was so kind of him to do that.”

“We have Reba in this book,” Price added. “She looks gorgeous in all the photographs. I love the story of her sister, Susie, wrapping up Reba’s old basketball shoes from high school and giving them to her, and then we have a picture of her and Susie with the shoes, which is great.”

These vignettes are set alongside an assortment of Christmas photos and savory holiday recipes, including: Christmas coconut noodles from Eric Paslay’s mother; Phil Vassar’s pumpkin bread; Mickey Guyton’s blueberry dump cake; and whole grain gingerbread courtesy of Brad Paisley’s mother, Sandy.

“I really have to thank the mothers,” Price said. “They tracked down the recipes and the childhood photos and were such a great help putting this book together.”

The passion project came with a tight deadline. “We signed on to do the book in March and it was due in June. We really had to rush to get it together, but everybody has been so helpful, with artists jumping on the phone to do interviews,” she said.

Scotty McCreery was the first artist Price interviewed for Country Faith Christmas. “We were having dinner one night with Scotty when he was in town, along with his publicist, Scott Stem. I told him I was working on the book, and he was gracious and did the interview right then. So we finished Scotty’s chapter with the production team and we were able to send that out to show other people what we were doing and how we were going to incorporate childhood photos, recipes and design elements into each artist’s chapter.”

Price is quick to credit the artists and artists’ publicists for their aid throughout the process. “I couldn’t have done this without them. We got to the end and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we don’t have Luke Bryan’s chili dog recipe!’ And Jessie [Schmidt, Bryan’s publicist] was a great help,” Price said.

Country Faith Christmas also includes a CD. The compilation, Country Faith Christmas: 14 Songs of the Season From Today’s Leading Country Music Stars, features Carrie Underwood (“Do You Hear What I Hear”), Dolly Parton (“Joy To The World”), Martina McBride (“Silent Night”), Alan Jackson (“Let It Be Christmas”), Hunter Hayes (“Go Tell It On The Mountain”), and more.

Price released the first book in the series, Country Faith, in 2013. She has since expanded the Country Faith brand with a new jewelry line in collaboration with Los Angeles’ Bob Siemon Designs, a faith-based jewelry manufacturer that crafted merchandise for the 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ.

“They sent us photos and asked what we thought would most appeal to a country music consumer,” Price said of the line, which includes bracelets, keychains, necklaces and more.

After HarperCollins released the first Country Faith book, Price brought the rights to the Country Faith brand. “That’s how we were able to do the jewelry deal, because we own the name. I’ve learned a lot through this. I’m not a business person, but I’m learning to be,” she said.

There is more to come under the Country Faith brand. “Next year there will be two more albums coming out. A Country Faith hymns collection will come out around Easter, so we are selecting songs for that now. We have a wish list of 20-25 hymns we are in the process of getting the licenses for. In the fall, we will have a second volume of Country Faith which will be country songs from a faith-based perspective.”

Country Faith Christmas is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com, target.com, and more.