“She Likes It a Lot. Me, Not So Much”: Vince Gill and Amy Grant Share Their Christmas Compromise (Exclusive)

When it comes to Vince Gill and Amy Grant‘s annual Christmas residency at Ryman Auditorium, the loving couple had to come to a compromise.

Grant adores playing the shows. Historically, Gill does not. But he’s coming around.

“Last year, I said thank you for doing this for me,” Grant said. “He said, ‘Amy, I’ve come to love it, too.’ It’s not pro-negative Christmas; he just likes to change things. He doesn’t do the same set list twice in a row, but now he’s got seven years of …

“Structure,” Gill supplies. “She likes it a lot. Me, not so much. And that’s fair.”

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Gill and Grant’s 14th annual “Christmas at the Ryman” residency is underway now. The remaining dates in the 12-concert run are Dec. 15, 17-18, and 20-21. There are matinee and evening performances. Tickets are available here.

Given how many people love traditional Christmas music and creating yuletide family traditions, the couple doesn’t change much about the songs or the show year-over-year. Although Grant admitted, they tried.

“One thing that people love about Christmas is familiarity,” Grant said.

“When you think about it, we’ve sung these songs now for over 30 years,” Gill added. “That spirit of familiarity is in us just as much. We’ve also sung half our lives.”

The Eagles Taught Vince Gill the Value of Familiarity

Gill explained that repetition brings thoughts and memories and that it’s remarkable how some of the classic songs are relevant every time he sings them. He finds the songs beautiful and credits their longevity to quality. Gill sees the correlation every night when he plays with the Eagles.

“The reason they’ve been what they are is because their songs were so great,” he said. “That’s what makes them what they’ve been. I can’t even fathom doing a Christmas show and not singing ‘The Christmas Song.’ It just wouldn’t feel normal.”

Gill looks forward to singing “The Christmas Song,” and others like it because its classic style allows him to step outside of his country music persona.

“It’s a really cool crooner song, and you have to treat these songs with the respect they deserve,” he said, explaining he didn’t want to be the country guy up there singing “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” “If you deviate from what makes them so special, then I think you’re doing it a disservice. I like things to be authentic. If I’m singing, I want people to think it’s Frank Sinatra up there singing those songs.”

Grant said the venue’s history is among the elements that make the residency unique for her.

“It was built as a church house and a place where soulful things happen,” she said. “Those evenings feel soulful to me. It’s beautiful to have slowly built a tradition in our hometown.”

Grant said she and Gill ask themselves every year if they should retire or keep the residency.

“Where’s the 35, 40-something-year-olds who want to step up and do this?” she said. “But nobody’s stepping up yet. So we go, ‘Well, I guess we’re still holding the baton. Alright, we’ll do it another year.’ But we just try to take it just one season at a time. It still feels like our time to be doing this.”

Photo by Robby Klein