Vince Gill is capping his 30-plus city solo tour this week at Ryman Auditorium. Gill booked multiple headlining nights at Country Music’s Mother Church—the perfect way for him to end his summer run, where he hopscotched from New York to Alabama to Minnesota to South Carolina and back.
“Hands down, the Ryman is my favorite place I’ve ever played,” Gill told American Songwriter. “Everything they do down there, I just always want to be a part of it. I love being on that stage and the history of it and all that stuff. I’ve had some pretty amazing moments in that room.”
Since Gill has already played three of his five tour-ending Ryman Auditorium shows, with the final two set for Friday and Saturday nights, Nashville audiences have a pretty solid idea of what to expect from Gill.
This summer, Gill’s setlist is pushing 40 songs nightly. It’s a mix of his greatest hits, new songs, his favorite covers, funny stories, and opportunities to spotlight his star-packed band. Critically acclaimed singer/guitarist Jedd Hughes and “The Voice” runner-up Wendy Moten both back Gill each night and take a turn in the spotlight.
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Vince Gill Shares His Spotlight
The tour is especially rewarding for him because, although he enjoys playing with the Eagles, which he has done since 2016, he has missed playing his songs. In addition, he has been on a ferocious songwriting streak and wants to share the new songs he has written with his fans.
“My heart tells me I’m writing better songs; my ears tell me I’m singing better,” Gill said. “All this stuff is apparent to me. I’ve written 150 songs in the last two or three years, and I don’t want to see them all sit in a desk drawer somewhere and never be heard.”
At 68, Gill is writing with the bravery he lacked in his 20s. He’s penned songs about race, abuse, and forgiveness. He’s writing from a place of life experience. Gill has a song called “Made Me,” which is about playing music his entire life. “Benny’s Song” is another deeply personal track that Gill wrote for his best friend. He said the song is “a little bit selfish” and “rips his guts out.”
But his Saturday night show at the Ryman wasn’t all about him. Gill invited his daughter, Corrina, to open the show, and his audience loved the singer/songwriter and her pop-rock anthems with a fervency they typically reserve for Gill.
Corrina: “My Dad is My Hero”
“My dad is my hero, so to open for him is a dream come true,” Corrina told the audience, who leapt to their feet to give her a standing ovation.
When Gill took the stage, he told the audience: “A special thank you to you for how you treated my youngest daughter. That one’s got a future right there.”
Gill’s set opened with career retrospective hit parade—”One More Last Chance,” “You Better Think Twice,” “What the Cowgirls Do,” “Tryin’ To Get Over You,” and “Take Your Memory with You”—before he started telling stories. And he opened with a doozy.
It’s safe to say Gill sang every song every die-hard or casual Vince Gill fan would want to hear. Fans who weren’t there missed out. The unexpected moments came in the form of his laugh-out-loud dialogue between songs. No one—even Coldplay—was off limits. If you weren’t there, here are a few of the stories you missed.
Vince Gill’s Kiss Cam:
“We shouldn’t call it a kiss cam,” Gill quipped. “We should call it a ‘You’re screwed cam.’”
Gill didn’t really have a cam, but his joke got a lot of laughs.
“I’m getting ready to sing a cheatin’ song,” Gill said. “I want to find out if anyone is out there with someone they shouldn’t be. I don’t know where to look when I’m singing this.”
Gill said he was a “big fan” of cheating songs because they’re what makes country music great.
“We wouldn’t have needed near as many gospel songs if there hadn’t been so many cheating songs,” he quipped. “That’s my theory.”
Gill Talks Being “Calorically Challenged”
Gill met a friend at a Mexican restaurant in a questionable part of Amarillo, Texas, but the food was incredible. He noticed a cowboy in a stained wifebeater and overalls staring at him from the corner of the room.
“He’s not subtle at all,” Gill said. “We’re kind of getting close to leaving. He walks over, he goes … ‘I’m going to tell you something. I swear to God, if Vince Gill was to put on about 70 pounds …”
The implication was that Gill would look just like himself if this thin self had gained substantial weight. Gill said he was “on the floor,” he was laughing so hard.
“I’m thinking 25 or 30 would’ve been impolite, but 70 was disturbing,” he said. “I said, ‘Well buddy, I said, I did and I am.’ That idiot never figured it out.”
Vince Gill Explains “Ole Shep” vs “Chiseled in Stone”:
Gill’s dad used to threaten to sing him “Ole Shep,” a song about a man who has to shoot his boyhood dog, to make him go to bed at night when he was a child. When Gill got older, he thought Vern Gosdin’s “Chiseled in Stone” was the saddest song he’d ever heard – except for “Ole Shep.”
When Gill met with Max D. Barnes, he wanted to write a sad song, too, and shared his theory about the two songs with Barnes. The songwriter couldn’t disagree with that, but didn’t like Gill’s plan to turn his song idea for “Look At Us” into a sad song. Barnes thought breaking up the couple was too sad.
“I said, ‘Max, are you sure,’” Gill said, recalling Barnes laughed. “He said, ‘Kid, look around here and tell me what you see.’ I said, ‘Okay, a really big house out in the country, a couple of Grammys on the shelf, and a Cadillac out front.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, you might want to listen to me.’ The young bull took the advice of the old bull, flipped it around, made a positive song, and I, too, now have a very nice Cadillac.”
Gill’s remaining Ryman Auditorium concerts are Friday and Saturday nights. A few tickets remain and start at $79 here.
(Photo by Ed Rode/Getty Images)
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