Keith Urban tour dates: Country star announces Upstate NY concerts, new album

Keith Urban is returning to Upstate New York this summer.

 The country superstar announced a new album late Wednesday, along with his 2018 tour dates. Billboard reports Urban will release "Graffiti U," his 11th studio album,  while on a 59-date Graffiti U Worldwide Tour beginning this summer.

Urban will perform at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs on June 27 and at CMAC in Canandaigua on Sunday, July 8. Country singer Kelsea Ballerini will open both shows at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster; on sale dates have not been announced. Prices range from $35 for lawn seats to $65.50, $91 and $105.50 for pavilion seating.

The tour dates were announced in a video featuring fans holding up blank signs with dates Photoshopped in by Urban's team, according to Billboard. Each photo was submitted by fans who live near the concert venues.

Urban has won multiple Grammy Awards, CMA Awards, ACM Awards and CMT Awards thanks to nearly two decades of hits, including "Days Go By," "Somebody Like You," "Making Memories of Us" and "You Look Good in My Shirt."

Urban's new album is expected to feature the single "Female," along with new song "Parallel Lines." He says the album title is inspired by his fans.

"The first letter of my last name is 'U,' and I like the double play on that, that it's a letter but also when you say it, it's 'you,'" Urban told Billboard. "We're in such the 'I' generation right now with iPhones and iThis and iThat, and I thought it'd be nice to flip that, and for me remind the audience, the listener, that this is about you."

GRAFFITI U 2018 WORLD TOUR DATES

Jun 15 -- St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Jun 16 -- Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortage Music Center
Jun 22 -- Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Jun 23 -- Pittsburgh, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
Jun 27 -- Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Jun 29 -- Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Jun 30 -- Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Jul 5 -- Gilford, NH @ Bank of NH Pavilion
Jul 6 -- Gilford, NH @ Bank of NH Pavilion
Jul 8 -- Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC
Jul 13 -- Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
Jul 14 -- Denver, CO Fiddler's @ Green Amphitheatre
Jul 15 -- Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
Jul 20 -- Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Jul 21 -- Lake Tahoe, NV @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
Jul 22 -- Lake Tahoe, NV @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
Jul 27 -- Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Jul 28 -- Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
Jul 29 -- Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Amphitheatre
Aug 3 -- Philadelphia, PA @ BB&T Pavilion
Aug 4 -- Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug 5 -- Bangor, ME @ Darling's Waterfront Pavilion
Aug 10 -- Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Aug 11 -- Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Aug 12 -- Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Aug 15 -- Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP*
Aug 17 -- Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
Aug 18 -- Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug 19 -- Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Aug 24 -- Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug 25 -- Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf Amphitheater
Aug 26 -- Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Sept 7 -- Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Sept 8 -- Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Sept 14 -- Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre*
Sept 15 -- London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens*
Sept 19 -- Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place*
Sept 21 -- Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre*
Sept 22 -- Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place*
Sept 23 -- Calgary, AB @ ScotiaBank Saddledome*
Sept 25 -- Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena*
Sept 27 -- Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena
Sept 28 -- Boise, ID @ Taco Bell Arena
Sept 29 -- Missoula, MT @ Adams Center
Oct 4 -- Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
Oct 5 -- Laughlin, NV @ Laughlin Event Center
Oct 12 -- Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center
Oct 13 -- Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Oct 14 -- Grand Forks, ND @ Ralph Engelstad Arena
Oct 18 -- Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
Oct 19 -- Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
Oct 20 -- Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Oct 24 -- Youngstown, OH @ Covelli Centre
Oct 25 -- Hershey, PA @ Giant Center
Oct 27 -- Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
Oct 28 -- Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
Nov 1 -- Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
Nov 2 -- New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
Nov 3 -- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center

Justin Bieber museum exhibit to open in hometown of Stratford

STRATFORD, Ont. – Mementoes from Justin Bieber’s formative years as an aspiring Canadian singer will go on display at a museum in his hometown of Stratford, Ont. next month.

“Steps to Stardom” — a reference to the young singer’s busking shows on the steps outside the local Avon Theatre — opens at the Stratford Perth Museum on Feb. 18.

The exhibit was put together by the museum’s curators in co-operation with Bieber’s grandparents, Diane and Bruce Dale, who gave them access to an extensive archive of items from the performer’s childhood and career.

Among the pieces set for display are Bieber’s Grammy Award, microphones, a hockey bag, and personal letters, including one from Michelle Obama.

About 125 items of interest were collected and will be narrowed down to between 50 and 75 pieces for display. After that, the ongoing exhibit will be refreshed with new items as time passes.

John Kastner, general manager of the museum, said organizers had been considering a Bieber exhibit for a while.

But plans didn’t begin to take shape until last summer when Conservative MP Peter Van Loan, the heritage critic for his party, visited the museum with his family and noted there wasn’t acknowledgment of Bieber’s history in the city.

He wasn’t the only person who asked about the superstar’s absence, Kastner said, but this time it was different.

“This was a (former) cabinet minister,” he said. “That sort of stuck with me.”

Seeing Bieber’s childhood stomping grounds has been a highlight for many visitors to the small city for years. In 2010, Stratford’s tourism board unveiled a “Bieber-iffic Map” highlighting 24 locations linked to the singer.

Organizers hope “Steps to Stardom” will have a similar appeal to Bieber’s loyal fan base, but also draw more casual music fans. The museum is also pushing for a broader selection of exhibits that would cater more specifically to millennial interests.

Kastner acknowledges some visitors will probably scoff at a pop star’s history being on display alongside more traditional artifacts, which include a history of the local fire department and a tribute to Stratford as a railway hub.

Even if not everyone is ready to catch Bieber fever, he hopes they’ll understand why the museum thinks this exhibit makes sense.

“You (must) tell this story if we’re going to be relevant and we’re going to be modern,” Kastner said.

“I think it’s a job for museums to tell stories and this is a great story.”

— By David Friend in Toronto