Keith Urban Announces the 'Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship'

Grammy Award-winning artist Keith Urban has partnered with Australia’s long-running Tamworth Country Music Festival to create the ‘Keith Urban Rising Star Scholarship.’

The idea:

• The initiative is designed to support emerging Australian country artists.

• The scholarship winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Nashville.

• There they will get unprecedented access to the city’s music scene, with opportunities to perform, write and record; meet industry personnel; and spend two days at Urban’s recording studio, The Sound (formerly the legendary Tracking Room).

How it works:

• The Tamworth Festival team will manage the selection process.

• They will also facilitate industry meetings and performance opportunities.

• Applications for the scholarship open in January 2026, and can be submitted here.

• The collaboration marks another chapter in Urban’s history with the Tamworth Festival, an event he busked at in the early stages of his career before winning the Star Maker competition as a 22-year-old, which set him on the path to global success.

What they said:

• Keith Urban: “Sometimes all a musician needs is an opportunity to be heard or someone to help nurture their talent. Having the opportunity to do that not only inspires me, I’m hoping that in some way this scholarship will serve to inspire others.”

• Peter Ross, Executive Manager of the Tamworth Festival: “Keith is the living embodiment of the Tamworth Festival pathway to success and together we want to help give other artists the opportunity to take Australian country music to the world. It’s wonderful that Keith continues to recognize and support the industry that helped shape his career and we are so pleased to be partnering with him.”