Taylor Sheridan and Blake Shelton are teaming up for a new country music competition series, and Keith Urban is joining them. TVLine reports that the four-time Grammy winner will headline The Road on CBS. “Emerging talents” will load onto a tour bus and hit the road to open for Urban at special concerts across the country.
“I spent a lot of underage life playing in some seedy pubs, sometimes just for the bartender, so I love the idea of throwing artists into a real-world environment to find out if they are artists,” Urban said in a statement. “Paying your dues sucks, but there are things in this business that can’t be taught, like how to put together a set list, whether to extend or cut a song during your performance, or how to work the crowd. For me, touring has always been my first love. It’s where the rubber meets the road. But it’s only the road to take if you want to be a performer.”
It was first announced in November that Shelton would be working on a new singing competition series just months after exiting The Voice. He serves as executive producer with Sheridan, David Glasser, and Lee Metzger. A list of contestants have not been announced as of yet, but CBS has released the dates of the special performances, which will take place throughout March and the beginning of April in Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and air as part of the show.
“I’m a big fan of Taylor’s incredible work, and I’m excited to team with him and my long-time collaborator, Lee, on The Road,” Shelton said in a press release at the time The Road was announced. “I know a thing or two about singing competitions and what it’s like to chase a music dream and live life on tour. I’m looking forward to discovering new talent and giving them this platform.”
As of now, a premiere date has not been announced, but the show is set to premiere sometime this fall on CBS. Country fans interested in being part of The Road and want to check out the special performances can enter to win tickets on The Road’s official website. This will be a competition series like to other, and it’s nice that Keith Urban, as well as Blake Shelton and Taylor Sheridan, is helping aspiring country artists.