It is proof that dreams do come true as students from the tiny country town of Urbenville in northern NSW were given celebrity treatment after inviting Keith Urban to perform in their end-of-year concert.
Key points:
- Urbenville Public School students have had a private audience with Keith Urban after being invited to his Brisbane concert
- The country music superstar has invited the students back on his next tour to sing with him on stage
- Urban gave each student a bag of all his merchandise that was personally named
Urbenville Public School caught the attention of the country music superstar with their lockdown videos in 2021, singing songs of hope for other students during the pandemic.
And while he could not visit the school in person, Urban went one better, inviting the 16 students, aged between five and 12, their teacher Mel Sifko and principal Chris Sifko for a private audience during his Brisbane concert on Saturday night.
“It’s the most amazing experience I think I’ve ever had,” Mrs Sifko said.
“The generosity of Keith and his team was just amazing.”
The students, from a town of about 300 people, were ushered through the VIP entrance at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre into their own special room, where they spent more than half an hour chatting with their idol.
“The students had the opportunity to ask him questions and speak with him and chat with him, and he went around and gave them all a hug, and he knew them personally by name,” Mrs Sifko said.
“He gave each student a bag of all his merchandise that was personally named, with signed photos and tea towels.”
This is your utopia
“Keith told them, whatever problems you feel outside, whatever might be getting you down, while you are in the concert, put it all behind you and dance and sing and just leave everything behind and just do whatever that makes you happy,” Mrs Sifko said.
One student asked if they could go on stage and sing with him during the concert.
“He said, unfortunately, no, but next time he does a tour, that we would come up in the afternoon and hang out with him and come up and play with him and go on stage with him then,” Mrs Sifko said.
“That gave them something more to look forward to.”
And the surprises did not stop there.
When they sat down for the concert, they were seated next to Urban’s immediate family.
“They were getting photos with Keith’s brother,” she said.
“It was just the most amazing experience ever.”
From little things big things grow
Urbenville’s school’s rise to fame came through a simple act of bringing hope to students around NSW during COVID lockdowns,
The school sang songs of hope and support to students around the state each Friday, sharing the videos on Facebook.
They were so proud of the impact they were having they wrote to their idol Keith Urban, inviting him to join them at their end-of-year concert.
And he was considering it.
But COVID forced the singer to postpone his 2021 tour.
Instead, he surprised the students with a live video call, as well as donating a guitar to each and every student at the school.
During the call, Urban said he was “moved” by their performances and wanted to share his passion for music with the school.
He invited them to be his special guests during his Australian tour in December 2022.
“I’d love to properly meet you all, so that’s the best way to do it,” Urban said at the time.
“I can’t come to your concert, so maybe you can come to mine.”