From Country To Yacht Rock: Keith Urban Releases First Taste Of His Highly Anticipated Cover Album
on Apr 29, 2026 • Updated Jun 05, 2026
This article was updated on June 5.
A Cover Of “Steal Away,” An Original Song Featuring Michael McDonald, And A Collaboration With Little Big Town Offer Sampling Of What To Expect
Leading up to April 29, Keith Urban was teasing something “extra smooth” that he would be announcing.
With the teasers for that day’s news, faded 8mm video of Keith at a beach could be seen with the memorable Seals and Croft melody to “Summer Breeze” heard as the backing track… but it wasn’t their original version of the song.
Back on March 19, Keith announced he’ll be releasing his first cover album, and he surprised fans at the Country Radio Seminar ’26 when he revealed it wouldn’t have any country songs on it.
Instead, Keith said, “It’s a thematic record … yacht rock songs.”
Upon him saying this, laughter and some cheers could be heard from some in the audience, to which Keith replied, “You think I’m kidding? I’m not kidding.”
Expounding on his love for the yacht rock sub-genre on Apple Music 1, Keith Urban said: “I’ve sort of rediscovered a big love for songs that would fit into the yacht rock category. All that music I really, really love.”
In a press release, Keith added:
“The origins of this kind of music was, in certain ways, a reaction and an antidote to the stresses of the times. Its sole mission (and soul mission) is unchanged…to bring us together and remind us that life is happening NOW- the eternal now- and we have far more in common than not. I hope wherever you hear this album you can feel the exhale, comfort and optimism these songs were originally written by and for.”
Interestingly, since the release of his 1991 debut album, Keith Urban, the following 35 years have not seen him release a cover album, until now.
RELATED: Keith Urban Announces First Cover Album … And It’s Not Country Music
Listen To The First Tracks From Keith Urban’s Yacht Rock Cover Album
Then, on April 29, Keith not only released his cover of “Summer Breeze,” with a lyric video, which can be seen below, but he also released an original song that will be on the upcoming album.
Keith also revealed the title of his yacht rock cover album and when it will be released.
Titled flow state, stylized in all lowercase letters, the album of yacht rock tunes will be released on June 12.
Featuring 11 tracks, Keith had said there will be an original song he wrote in the yacht rock style included in the mix, titled “We Go Back.”
That song, which features Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, is available now to stream in addition to “Summer Breeze.”
On May 15, another song from flow state has been released: Keith’s cover of “Steal Away,” by Robbie Dupree.
Writing on his cover of “Steal Away,” Keith wrote on social media, “I knew ‘Steal Away’ would kick off this yacht rock album as soon as we recorded it. It immediately sets the right vibe and sums up the energy of this record perfectly.”
With less than a week to go, another song from flow state was released on June 5: “Magnet and Steel,” featuring Little Big Town.
If you think their collaboration has a Fleetwood Mac-esque sound, you’re not mistaken. On the original 1978 song by Walter Egan, both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham provided backing vocals, and the song was produced by Buckingham.
Watch Keith rehearse singing “Magnet and Steel” with Little Big Town, here, and hear their full studio recording below:
The complete track list includes:
- “Steal Away”
- “Baby Come Back”
- “Magnet and Steel” (ft. Little Big Town)
- “Just the Two of Us”
- “On and On”
- “We Go Back” (ft. Michael McDonald)
- “Help Is On It’s Way”
- “How Much I Feel”
- “Summer Breeze”
- “I Just Wanna Stop”
- “Guitar Man” (ft. John Mayer)
Watch the video for Keith Urban’s cover of “Magnet and Steel,” featuring Little Big Town, here:
Watch the visualizer for Keith Urban’s cover of “Steal Away,” here:
Watch the lyric video to Keith Urban’s take on “Summer Breeze,” here:
Watch the lyric video for “We Go Back” with Michael McDonald, here:
Pre-save Keith Urban’s yacht rock cover album, flow state, on your preferred streaming platform, here.
Watch Keith have some fun with “We Go Back,” as he tries the tune out on a variety of instruments, including sitar and banjo, here:
