ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — Country singer Keith Urban gave just hours of notice that he was going to play a free concert Friday night in the parking lot of a large convenience store and gas station in north Alabama.
Hundreds of people gathered for the show in Athens, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Nashville, outside a Buc-ee’s, a roadside chain known for its barbecue.
“I came to this Buc-ee’s about a month ago, and as I was leaving I thought, ‘This would be fun to play a show here,'” Urban told the crowd during the concert, according to an Instagram video posted by WAFF-TV in Huntsville, Alabama.
Urban said his “caveman brain” told him it would be fun to set up a small stage for a smaller audience.
“To be honest with you, I thought there would be maybe 100 or 200 people,” Urban said in a video that showed a much larger crowd.
According to reports, people began gathering hours before the show began.
“I was at work and I heard on the radio that there was going to be a surprise concert at Buc-ee’s in Athens,” Cindy Wilson told FOX 54 WZDX-TV in Huntsville. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m on my way home.’ It’s 15 minutes from my house, so I couldn’t believe it.”
During his time at the store, Urban also worked behind the food counter, where he was seen in the video wearing a Buc-ee’s T-shirt and apron, drizzling barbecue sauce on brisket and chopping the meat into small pieces.