Flow State (stylised in all lowercase) is the thirteenth studio album by Australian and American country music singer Keith Urban. The album was released on 12 June 2026 via Hit Red and MCA Nashville. The album comprises mostly covers, with the exception of one original song, "We Go Back", featuring Michael McDonald.
At the 2026 ARIA Music Awards it was nominated for Best Country Album.
Background Flow State features ten covers of classic soft rock songs "Flow State is his 13th studio album. It features 10 mellow soft-rock covers." and one original song, "We Go Back", which features Michael McDonald. Aside from McDonald, the album also features collaborations with Little Big Town and John Mayer.
Urban first mentioned making a yacht rock album during the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee, when he stated, "It's the first time I've done an album of covers. There is one original on the record. It's a thematic record...yacht rock songs. You think I'm kidding? I'm not kidding." He described his inspiration for the album as coming from the original intent of yacht rock as a genre: "music created as an antidote to stress, built to uplift."
The album was officially announced on 29 April 2026, alongside the release of the lone original, "We Go Back" featuring Michael McDonald, and Urban's version of "Summer Breeze".
Flow State was recorded at Urban's studio, The Sound (formerly The Tracking Room), in Nashville, where the project began with just recording one or two songs for fun without the intention of releasing them, before evolving into an album full of material.
Track listing Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
Personnel Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Musicians
Keith Urban – electric guitar (all tracks); background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4–9, 11), acoustic guitar (6, 7, 9, 11) Chris McHugh – drums (all tracks), percussion (1, 4, 7, 10) Charlie Judge – keyboards (1–5, 7–11), string synthesizer (8), synthesizer (9) Mark Hill – bass (1–5, 7–11) Josh Reedy – background vocals (1, 2, 7, 8) Kris Donegan – acoustic guitar (1, 5), electric guitar (3, 5, 7) Rob McNelley – electric guitar (2) Wendy Moten – background vocals (3, 4, 10) Justin Schipper – pedal steel (3, 5) Karen Fairchild – background vocals (3) Kimberly Schlapman – background vocals (3) Jimi Westbrook – background vocals (3) Philip Sweet – background vocals (3) Tom Bukovac – electric guitar (4, 8, 10), acoustic guitar (9) Vicky Hampton – background vocals (4, 10) Tania Hancheroff – background vocals (4, 10) Mark Douthit – saxophone (4) Eric Darken – percussion (5, 9) David Huff – programming (6), percussion (8, 11) Breland – background vocals (6) Tommy Sims – bass (6) Sam Sumser – electric guitar (6) Pete Kuzma – keyboards (6) Michael McDonald – vocals (6) Mark Dobson – percussion (8) Dann Huff – electric guitar (9) John Mayer – electric guitar, background vocals (11)
Technical and creative
Keith Urban – production Dann Huff – production Justin Niebank – recording (1, 3, 5) Mark Dobson – recording (2, 4, 10), additional recording (1, 3, 5–9, 11) Vance Powell – recording (6) Steve Marcantonio – recording (7) Drew Bollman – recording (8, 9) Dom Camardella – Michael McDonald vocal recording (6) Evan Ridgway – recording assistance (1–5, 7–11), additional recording assistance (1, 3, 5–9, 11) Joey Stanca – recording assistance (1, 3, 5) Austin Brown – recording assistance (2, 4, 10) Keller Lindley – recording assistance (6), additional recording assistance (1, 3, 5–9, 11) Terry Koehn – recording assistance (6) Steve Cordray – recording assistance (7–9, 11) Scott Johnson – production management Jack Emblem – mixing Dan Weston – mixing assistance Pete Lyman – mastering Brendan Walter – art direction, design Georgia Malone – layout, design Phil Chester – photography Sara Byrne – photography Peter Lamden – hair Barbara Guillaume – make-up Wendy Schecter – wardrobe styling
Charts + Chart performance for Flow State Chart (2026) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 5 Australian Country Albums (ARIA) 1 UK Albums Sales (OCC) 38
Release history + Release dates and formats for Flow State Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Various 12 June 2026 Digital download, CD MCA Nashville United States 10 July 2026 Vinyl MCA Nashville
References