Cindy Watts

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Surprise Keith Urban fans! The country music singer, who will release his ninth album “Ripcord” Friday, will celebrate with a free concert in Nashville. The event is set for noon Monday, May 9th, on the plaza in front of Bridgestone Arena.

And it’s not the only time Urban will play the venue this year. The singer will bring his RipCord World Tour 2016 featuring Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris to Bridgestone Arena Nov. 11. Tickets are on sale now.

Keith Urban finds rhythmic balance in life, 'Ripcord'

The free performance is part of a larger launch plan for "Ripcord" that will also take Urban to events in New York City on Wednesday and Los Angeles on May 10.

At Urban's first stop, he'll premiere songs from "Ripcord" on global music/entertainment streaming platform TIDAL. The show, entitled "TIDAL X: Keith Urban," will be live 7 p.m. Wednesday at tidal.com/tidalxkeithurban.com.

In Los Angeles, Urban will play the 200-seat Grammy Museum’s Clive Davis Theater on May 10. Dubbed KEITH URBAN “Inside The Songs Of RIPCORD,” the show will have an ​‘inside the actor’s studio’ format moderated by Scott Goldman, Vice President of the GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares.

Keith Urban goes honky-tonkin' to announce new CD

Such a multi-pronged release event isn't new for Urban — more than two years ago, he celebrated the release of his last album "Fuse" by playing multiple clubs on Lower Broadway. Urban invited special guests, including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler to perform, and then — while heavily guarded — ran the sidewalks from club to club.

"Ripcord" is already home to Urban's 19th and 20th No. 1 songs "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" and "Break on Me." He recently released "Wasted Time," the third single from the album. Its video debuted last week.

Each "Ripcord" release event is open to fans. For more information, visit http://smarturl.it/ripcordevents.