The Road (2025)

Matt Roush says...

“It’s a calling — and you’re born to do it, or you’re never gonna make it,” says country-music star Keith Urban of life on the road as a headlining musician. In a promising music-competition series, Urban brings along 12 aspiring singer-songwriters, many of them seasoned but yet to hit the big time, on a multi-city tour, where they’ll perform as his opening acts. At each venue — Fort Worth’s Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall is the first stop — they take the stage in hopes of winning over the audience, whose votes decide who moves on and who’ll be sent home. (The choice is pretty obvious in the opener.) They’ve put some casting muscle into this show, with The Voice alum Blake Shelton backing up Urban as executive producer and sounding board, with Gretchen Wilson a warm and invaluable presence as “road manager” and mentor to the singers. The last one still singing at the end of the season gets $250,000, a recording contract, and a spot on the Main Stage at next year’s Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, California. But it’s going to be a long road to get there.

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