Keith Urban Crowns Inaugural Rising Star Scholarship Winner

The winner of Keith Urban's Rising Star Scholarship has been revealed.

Launched in partnership with the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Urban's scholarship was created for artists who have already built momentum and are ready for a meaningful push forward.

The prize offers career-defining access to Nashville, including performance opportunities, songwriting sessions, industry introductions, and recording time at Urban’s studio, The Sound.

Urban has selected Ethan Calway as the inaugural recipient. He broke the news in a surprise Zoom call over the weekend - watch it below.

 

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Of Calway, Urban said his "honesty" made him stand out in the competition, telling Rolling Stone AU/NZ: "When he sings, I believe him. I can feel his story coming through – and I can feel his heart. When that finds the right song, it all aligns – and that’s what connects."

He hopes the experience will help Calway break through in Nashville - something he wished he had himself as a rising artist. "I was an artist who also had my sights on one day getting to Nashville, but didn’t know how to get there – so I wanted to offer something specific in helping artists have a chance to do just that," Urban said.

Read the full interview with Urban here.

Calway is an emerging singer-songwriter hailing from Gippsland, Victoria. His music is honest and unpolished, blending grit with heart in songs that live between the pub, the winding back roads, and all the spaces in between.

He recently released a new single "Better Tomorrow", which is built on punchy guitars and an anthemic hook. It tells the story of pushing through long nights, working for something bigger, and refusing to stay stuck.

At its core, the song is about momentum and mindset. The repeated line “I’m working on a better tomorrow” lands as both a personal mantra and a universal message, resonating with anyone striving for change. Calway is taking the new song and more on the road with shows across the country this month - see here for details.