Keith Urban And Vince Gill Host All-Star Benefit For The Country Music Hall Of Fame

Keith Urban and Vince Gill co-hosted their 8^th All for the Hall, a show featuring a wide range of artists and musicians all donating their performance and rehearsal time, for free, to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Throughout the show, the two performed songs of their own, then provided back-up vocals and master guitar work for an exciting list of other country artists like Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Brooks & Dunn, HARDY, Kelsea Ballerini, Old Dominion, Riley Green, Mickey Guyton, and more.

Urban, still recovering from a bout with the flu, kicked things off with “Wild Hearts,” followed by “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” He told the audience he chooses different themes for each All for the Hall event and this year chose “The Song Remembers When,” noting Trisha Yearwood would be along to sing the song itself, later in the show. Each artist was asked to sing a song defining a memorable moment, along with one of their own hits.

For his “memorable moment” Urban said, “I’m a lifelong Waylon Jennings fan, so much so, I have one of his guitars.” He noted he was also a “Dukes of Hazzard” fan reminding the crowd that Jennings sang the show’s theme song and served as narrator. Urban then played a bit of “Good Ol Boys” pointing out while you didn’t really see Waylon, you did see his hands and guitar, hence the line, “I’m a good ole boy, you know my Mama loved me. But she don’t understand they keep showing my hands and not my face on TV.”

Vince Gill took to the stage playing “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” then took a few minutes to talk about playing for the Eagles for the past seven years, something he called his “dream gig.” He said as a kid, one of the first songs he learned to play was “Rocky Mountain Way,” and talked about how amazing it’s been to play that song with the great rock and roll guitarist Joe Walsh on the road. He then launched into his version which included some mesmerizing guitar work by both Gill and Urban.

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For more than two-and-a half hours, different artists performed a couple of songs, some sharing stories. Patty Loveless, just inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October noted it was a dream come true and thanked the crowd for supporting the Hall and its efforts to preserve and honor country music history.

During a lull in the show, as the stage crew shifted some instruments to prepare for the next act, Urban spotted a sign in the crowd with a crowd mentioning it was their birthday. An extremely excited young lady named Olivia told Urban she was a huge fan of his and yes, she’d be celebrating her birthday next week. Urban then had the entire crowd sing her “Happy Birthday.” As he hugged her and headed back on stage he laughed and said, “I don’t know how you’re going to top that NEXT year, Olivia!”

Midway through the show, Urban donned a red Christmas sweater and Santa hat, Gill added a string of Christmas lights around his neck, and they introduced Brenda Lee. Lee, who turns 79 next week, broke a few music records this week, chief among them: becoming the oldest female artist with a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She then sang the song that got her there, the Christmas classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” a song she recorded in 1958 when she was just 13 years old. She got a standing ovation.

Stellar performances continued with Ernest, War & Treaty, and HARDY.

Hardy sang his song, “Truck Bed,” then pointed out that for some, this time of year can be tough.

“The holidays, stress and mental health, anxiety, whatever, whatever you’ve got going on, it’s always good to take a look around and just realize you’re breathing, we’re all here, we’re all lucky to be alive, and therefore it’s a great day to be alive. Am I right about that, Nashville?” Then he, along with the entire band sang a rousing version of Travis Tritt’s “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive.”

Trisha Yearwood performed “The Song Remembers When,” and Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.” She stressed the significance of the night’s show, all to celebrate, honor, and raise money for the continued good work of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

“The thing I love about doing All for the Hall, and I’ve done a few of them,” she said, “is the Hall of Fame is a treasure. And the Hall of Fame is where all of our stories are told, forever. And artists like Brenda Lee, who came up here and did “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” she’s our history. She is to be revered and remembered. If you came here tonight and you’ve never heard of Brenda Lee, I don’t know where you live, but also, you want to look her up. What this woman has done in her career is astonishing. And she’s a true legend and hero. So, that’s what this is all about.

Brooks & Dunn rounded things out with dynamic performances of “My Maria” and “I Ain’t Living Long Like This.”

The evening also featured a performance of an original song from the museum's flagship education program, which pairs students with professional songwriters. Abigail Sowards, a senior from Stewarts Creek High School, guided by songwriter Paulina Jayne, performed her song "These Moments" alongside her fellow classmates John Dechira and David Guydon.

Urban announced this year’s All for the Hall raised $900,000, the most ever raised at one of these shows. The idea for All for the Hall originated in 2005 when Vince Gill suggested country music artists do an annual benefit show. All told, the total raised is more than $5 million. Next year’s All for the Hall fundraiser takes place in Dallas.