Although Keith Urban's Get Closer World Tour was recently announced, his appearance today on The Oprah Winfrey Show may well overshadow that news. Using her magical powers, Oprah managed to extract quite a few details about Urban's addiction intervention.

When she asked what was the source of his addiction, Urban answered, "Everything. Alcohol and cocaine, predominantly.”

But then they got into the nitty gritty of the actual moment of truth. Urban confided that his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, was the catalyst for his change, something for which he is ever-grateful: "That's the point right there where she really should've just walked. I'm just so glad she didn't.

"She made a decision to turn around and initiate, ultimately, this intervention. And it was done in such a way that the love in that room at that moment was just right, and I was like, 'Put the cuffs on, let's go.'

"It was Nic and a small group of people I'm close to in Nashville. To see love in action to that degree -- at that time in that way -- I'd never experienced anything like that. And all the rest of it is very, very, very personal. I was actually set to go and play a show the next night, and I just said, 'I don't want to do anything but go.'"

Oprah isn't the only thing Urban has been up to lately. On the heels of his latest CD release, Get Closer, he played a free show at a Dallas taco stand last week. The next day, Urban provided the half-time entertainment for the Dallas Cowboys' game against the New Orleans Saints. Turns out, Kidman got him hooked on the sport.

"She's a passionate, giant supporter," Urban explains. "She's a big NFL fan, and she sort of turned me on to it. Since I'm from Australia, it was all sort of new to me."

Now, though, he has his sights set on touring and he's ready to rock 44 cities across 30 states next summer. After getting started in Mobile on June 16, Urban plays Tampa on June 18. He'll hit a number of stops in the Southeast en route to the Northeast.

Once there, Urban hits Boston on July 8 before bringing his Get Closer Tour to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. on July 9.

A few days later, Philadelphia hosts Urban at the Wells Fargo Center for a July 15 performance. After that, he'll makes his way around the upper Midwest. Along with plays in Columbus and Cleveland, one date has Urban in Grand Rapids on July 22.

The nation's capital is also on the itinerary. Urban lands in Washington, DC on July 28.

For August, the routing continues to focus on the South and Midwest. Among other dates, Urban plays Cincinnati August 11 and Omaha on August 20.

At this point, September is mostly dark, but things get kicking again in October with a blast of dates out West. In addition to three other California shows, Urban rocks Fresno on October 4. He'll also hit Phoenix and Denver before finding himself, once again, in the Midwest for the conclusion of the tour.

All in all, Urban couldn't be more excited about the year ahead: "Playing live is what it's always been about for me.

"It's creating in the moment. It's the joy, the electricity, the unexpected, the passion and the unknown journey that we're all taking together. I've always felt that the best live concert experiences tap into a deep need in all of us to feel a part of something ... to belong. I'm bringing the big boom box and an arsenal of songs, and I can't wait to throw this party!"

Having just wrapped a tour of the UK and Ireland, Robert Plant and his Band of Joy are planning a 15-date tour of the U.S. that gets going in mid-January. The Plant-led Band of Joy did a two-week run this past July as a pre-cursor to the September release of his album of the same name.

The folk-rock/Americana-tinged record is Plant's ninth studio set and has so far yielded a hit at Triple A radio with “Angel Dance.”

It's no wonder that Plant and the Band of Joy are making inroads in that genre. With singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, musician/producer Buddy Miller, multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, bassist Byron House, and drummer Marco Giovino in your ranks – not to mention an iconic history of your own – it would be hard for Plant to make a misstep.

And, indeed, he doesn't. A reviewer for the UK's Telegraph attended a show on this most recent trek and found nothing to complain about, writing, “The Band of Joy has developed even since its first London gig in September, as might be expected with such free-spirited musicians...

“Layers of intricate sound come together in a thunderous density, through which Plant’s sweet whine curls like a thread. Simple delight informs the whole enterprise: this is a Band of Joy indeed (the name derives from a pre-Zeppelin outfit containing Plant and John Bonham, with Noddy Holder as occasional roadie).”

The critic liked the show so much, a five-star rating was issued. A Belfast Telegraph writer wasn't as enthralled, offering up only four stars for that concert: “Plant shuffled on exuding charisma, weirdly resembling Mick Hucknall's dapper older brother (perhaps that Faces reunion isn't a bad idea after all).

“No longer the preening rock god of yore, he has learned the value of self-restraint. No wonder he looks so well on it. Plant has described his current band as his 'heart’s desire' and it was a gig that exuded an end-of-term looseness.”

American pundits and fans alike will have their chance to survey the show soon enough.

Following a January 18 start in Asheville, NC, Plant takes Band of Joy to Pittsburgh's Peterson Events Center on January 19.

Covering mostly large markets, Plant includes Boston's House of Blues on the itinerary for a January 25 stop. A few days later, on January 28, Foxwoods hosts the Band of Joy in Mashantucket, CT.

After a one-night stand in New York City, it's down the Eastern Seaboard to Washington, DC where Plant and company will play the DAR Constitution Hall on February 1. That's followed by a Band of Joy date in Raleigh, NC the next day.

Between dates in North Charleston and Charlotte, the Fox Theatre in Atlanta has Plant on February 5.

A fitting end, this leg of the tour with the Band of Joy ends in Nashville at the War Memorial Auditorium with two shows, on February 8 and 9. The Band of Joy album was, after all, recorded in Music City.

A duo version of the North Mississippi Allstars, with brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson, will open all of the shows.