Ronnie Milsap Hosts A Final Nashville Show With Tribute Performances From His Famous Friends, Including Keith Urban
In late 2023, Keith Urban and other singers stepped up to honor the legendary Ronnie Milsap.
Milsap definitely earned his status as a country music legend. Only two other artists have more #1 country hits than him: George Strait and Conway Twitty.
Now 81, Milsap isn’t ready to fully retire. But he does want to scale down his live performance commitments.
He chose to host one final show in Nashville on October 3. The show included tribute performances from a number of stars, including Kelly Clarkson, Little Big Town, Sara Evans, Ricky Skaggs, and Keith Urban.
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Urban paid tribute to Milsap with a performance of one of his deeper cuts, “Out Where the Bright Lights are Glowing.”
The Story Behind Ronnie Milsap’s “Out Where The Bright Lights Are Glowing”
Gary Harrison and Kent Robbins wrote “Out Where the Bright Lights are Glowing”. It served as the first track on Milsap’s album of the same title, which was released in 1981.
Milsap honored the late Jim Reeves through the album. All of the tracks are covers of Reeves’ songs, with the exception of “Out Where the Bright Lights are Glowing” and “Dear Friend.” Those two songs were written specifically for the album.
Milsap never released “Out Where the Bright Lights are Glowing” as a single. So it’s one of the lesser-known songs in his catalog, but his most devoted fans love it.
Hear Keith Urban’s Rendition Of “Out Where The Bright Lights Are Glowing”
“When I found out about this night, I said ‘I really want to be a part of it.’ I grew up playing a lot of Ronnie’s songs,” said Urban, who’s delivered powerful tributes to other artists such as Jimmy Buffett.
Urban explained why he chose to perform “Out Where the Bright Light Are Glowing.”
“There was one [song] that I always loved. It’s a little bit obscure. Ronnie did a tribute record to the great Jim Reeves…there was a song written specifically for that album, I always loved that song, and so I want to do that song tonight for Ronnie.”
One person who attended Milsap’s final Nashville show filmed Urban singing “Out Where The Bright Lights Are Glowing.” They shared the video on YouTube, which you can enjoy below.