Keith Urban will serve as the headliner for CBS’ upcoming music competition series The Road. In the show, he will tour with rising artists who will compete to secure a place on his tour by performing as his opening act. Fans at each performance will decide who stays and who is eliminated as the artists travel through Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, culminating in a final performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
“I spent a lot of my underage life playing in some seedy pubs, sometimes just for the bartender,” Urban said in a statement. “I love the idea of throwing artists into a real-world environment to find out if they are artists.” He added that the series will offer participants a chance to develop skills that can only be gained through live performance, such as crafting a setlist and engaging with the crowd.
The series will feature performances at venues like Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, The Factory in Dallas, and Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. Tickets to each show will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Urban, who has served as a judge on American Idol and as a coach on The Voice in Australia, will bring his experience to The Road. His new album High was released in September, and he is preparing for his High and Alive World Tour starting in May.
The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Shelton’s production company, Lucky Horseshoe Productions, with executive producers including Sheridan, Shelton, and David Glasser.