Let Keith Urban’s yacht rock covers put you in a ‘Flow State’

Keith Urban’s getting into a Flow State, as he prepares for the arrival of his 13th studio album on June 12.

If you weren’t expecting his next record to be a collection of yacht rock covers, well, you’re probably not alone.

But what is yacht rock, anyway?

“It’s really a genre that’s been sort of created or criteriaed or whatever you want to call it by some guys, maybe in the 2000s or something, that had a YouTube channel,” Keith explains. “They just sort of put together the fact that there’s a whole bunch of songs that came out in the late ’70s, early ’80s in a soft rock kind of vein that all seem to fit the vibe of being out in the water, kinda yacht rock vibe.”

“They don’t have to be songs about sailing and water and waves and all that nonsense,” he clarifies. “There’s just a vibe about them that just fits really good. And so this record called Flow State came about.”

While it remains to be seen whether Keith will tour to support the album, he’s already played a concert full of its songs. His pop-up show Wednesday at The Mil at Cannery Hall was a sell-out.

You can check out Flow State’s one original, “We Go Back” featuring Michael McDonald, and Keith’s cover of “Summer Breeze” now.