Keith Urban’s show in Gilford, New Hampshire turned into a memorable one after fan Rob Joyce held up a sign saying “Can I play your guitar?”. Being a good sport, Urban invited him up to play and it turned out Rob could shred with the best of ‘em, showing off a groovy rhythm playing as well as nailing a tight melodic solo.
After strapping on Urban’s guitar, Rob started playing the upbeat rocker “Good Thing”, which was an older song not on the band’s setlist. The star’s band of crack Nashville session pros of course had no trouble with the change in plans and launched into the tune, while the frontman entertained the crowd with a rowdy performance. Have a listen to the performance below.
Urban invited Rob, who hails from Berlin, Massachusetts, up after noticing his girlfriend Lex’s sign “It’s my boyfriend’s birthday”, which pointed to Rob’s sign asking to play. Urban quizzed Rob about whether he could play guitar and then quickly invited him up to play, while the country star engaged in some banter with Lexi, who told him that the couple met at school. She vouched for her man, saying he was a “fantastic guitarist”, and she definitely wasn’t lying.
Urban enjoys spicing up his shows by bringing fans onstage. A similar event happened later on the same tour, when Urban invited young Hailey Benedict up to play and sing during his show. Hailey showed off a great folk-pop style voice while the frontman watched on like a proud dad, as you can see below.
The videos were a big hit with country fans, with both videos attracting over six million views. Fans loved to see how Rob slayed the gig, adding comments such as “Every guitar players’ dream. You will not find a better example anywhere of a fan nailing a song when brought on stage to play with a band,” and “it’s amazing how he stays in the pocket through the whole song. Every time Keith points or gestures to Rob he’s right there with the whole band. It’s an incredibly magical moment.”
Rob showed excellent taste in choosing “Good Thing”, which is a real upbeat crowd pleaser that allowed Urban and the band to put on a great show. The song is a deep cut from Urban’s eighth studio album Fuse. The album debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200 and was also the country rocker’s fourth album to go to number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
“Good Thing” is a mix of rock, pop and electronic elements, although you didn’t hear much of the latter in the live version of the song. The entire Fuse album was a stylistic departure for Urban, who chose to explore various genres during the sessions, winning him praise from critics and fans. The country hit-maker told Rolling Stone at the time “I just wanted to see how far I could go before it’s not me,” and said this experimental attitude was inspired by U2’s album Achtung Baby, which also represented a departure from their previous work. If you would like to see more from Keith Urban, you can subscribe to his YouTube channel. You can also visit his official website for more information.