Review: At the State Fair, Keith Urban proves that he's country's biggest rock star

The mosh pit at the Minnesota State Fair grandstand — yes, a mosh pit — was packed with 500 people Saturday night, surrounded by concertgoers in chairs. About 300 other fans perched above on the brand-new party decks on the east and west ends of the grandstand. And thousands of Keith Urban acolytes — 13,421 total — filled the sold-out stands.

Even though no one was really moshing, the mosh pit seemed appropriate because Urban is really a rocker with a Nashville address, Hollywood wife and 22 No. 1 country songs.

What sets him apart from other big country acts are his rock-star guitar skills and firepower as well as his rocker attitude of skip-the-script-and-let-'er-rip.

Every country superstar from Kenny and Carrie to Garth and Luke (both of 'em) delivers a heavily choreographed concert, from the patter to the lighting cues. With Urban, anything goes. To be sure, the show, including the lighting and superb live video and his excellent band, is rehearsed. But the bandleader is in the moment. His concert seemed as fresh as anything being marketed under the country banner in 2023.

Early in the evening, Urban responded to signs held by fans. "Green eyes," said the singer of a tune called "Brown Eyes Baby." So, he improvised a cappella "don't it make my green eyes blue" to the old Crystal Gayle song.

Another sign — "Ever had a photo with a pirate?" — caught Urban's eye, so he invited the man onstage. Turns out that Brad, with one eye patch, from St. Petersburg, Fla., was in town visiting his Plymouth pal Nicole ("That's a good name," declared Urban, who is married to Nicole Kidman. "I've got you tattooed all over me.")

Nicole then requested Urban to come to her son's graduation party the next day.

"That's Minnesota right there," Urban proclaimed. "We'll be live in Plymouth tomorrow."

Urban, 55, turned on the charm, of course, and played nearly 20 songs (including verses of Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" and Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" as well as virtual duets with Carrie Underwood and Pink) and turned it out on guitar.

While country stars Brad Paisley and Vince Gill are gifted guitarists, their solos in concert tend to be concise, more like a side than an entrée. Chris Stapleton is a mighty guitarist, too, but more blues-rooted.

Urban displayed a wide guitar vocabulary — even in just one song.

During an extended journey in 2010's "Put You in a Song," the guitarist ripped off a speedy run, slowed down to a melancholy passage and shifted into some chicken pickin', as the country folks call it. He segued into a deep, almost bluesy vibe, next went into an ethereal mode, followed by a jazzy arpeggio, then took off into space-age rock before repeating a high note over and over, only to do Carlos Santana-evoking licks and finally some chiming rock voicings. And he wrapped it up by pirouetting while playing his instrument.

Yeah, put that in a song. A country song. A rock song. Any kind of song.

There wasn't any twang or even au courant hip-hop rhythms in Australia-reared Urban's sound, which has captured the imagination of U.S. country audiences since 1999. Actually, with a heavy drum sound, Urban's brand of country recalled how producer Mutt Lange revolutionized Nashville in the '90s, collaborating with Shania Twain with an '80s pop-rock approach.

In his return to the fairgrounds, Urban didn't commit the same faux pas as he did in his 2015 debut, calling it the "Minneapolis State Fair." Heck, he even joked that he expected to find a Viking in the audience, not a pirate.

During his 95-minute set, Urban loved plugging into the audience, whether scampering past the pit to perform on a tiny platform facing fans in the grandstand seats or asking his crew to turn off the lights and urging fans to turn on their cellphones. The mosh pit illuminated the stage.

"What we cannot do alone," Urban said, "we can do together."