Vince Gill Sets Intimate National Tour

Vince Gill photo courtesy of MCA Nashville.

July 24, 2008 — Vince Gill has performed in all kinds of settings, providing one of many voices in large ensembles or singing solo with the quiet backing of a lone piano. He’ll tilt in the latter direction on his next concert tour, travelling with just two additional musicians to present A Special Acoustic Evening With Vince Gill.

The trek begins Aug. 18 at the Lorain County Fair in Wellington, Ohio, and ends Nov. 24 in Alexandria, Va. Outside of his own guitar, Vince will be backed only by keyboard player Pete Wasner, who co-wrote Vince’s hit "Whenever You Come Around"; and percussionist Billy Thomas, a former member of McBride & The Ride. The combo is a significant contrast to the crowded stage Vince presented the last time he worked the road in a significant way.

"In 2006 and 2007, I toured with a 17-piece band so I could reproduce the sounds of These Days, the new album I’d made," Vince says. "It was a lot of fun. This year, I’m not out promoting a new album so I wanted to do something really different. Recently I saw James Taylor on his tour. It was a kind of one-man-band show, with just him, a piano player and all those great songs. I really enjoyed watching it, and I knew I would enjoy performing in that setting as well. So I’m going to tour basically the same way — pared down and informal."

Vince has been seen in a pared-down format several times this year. He played a concert alone in Oklahoma City in March when his former elementary school renamed the site of his first public performance as the Vince Gill Auditorium. In May, he sang "You Don’t Know Me," backed only by piano player John Hobbs, at the Nashville memorial service for Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold.

Vince, who’s a Hall of Famer himself, can also be heard these days as the background vocalist on "Troubadour," by yet another fellow Hall of Fame member, George Strait.

Dates for A Special Acoustic Evening With Vince Gill follow:

• Aug. 18 Wellington, Ohio
• Aug. 20 Westbury, N.Y.
• Aug. 21 Morristown, N.J.
• Aug. 22 Chautauqua, N.Y.
• Aug. 23 Highmount, N.Y.
• Aug. 24 Torrington, Conn.
• Aug. 27 Williamsport, Pa.
• Aug. 28 Lancaster, Pa.
• Aug. 29 Hyannis, Mass.
• Aug. 30 Cohasset, Mass.
• Aug. 31 Hampton Beach, N.H.
• Sept. 17 Wausau, Wis.
• Sept. 18 Joliet, Ill.
• Sept. 19 Arnold, Mo.
• Sept. 20 Mason City, Iowa
• Sept. 21 Kansas City, Mo.
• Sept. 23 Ashland, Ky.
• Sept. 24 Bloomington, Ind.
• Sept. 25 Wabash, Ind.
• Sept. 26 Cincinnati, Ohio
• Sept 27 Muncie, Ind.
• Oct. 21 Mesa, Ariz.
• Oct. 22 Palm Desert, Calif.
• Oct. 23 Bakersfield, Calif.
• Oct. 24 Turlock, Calif.
• Oct. 25 Los Angeles, Calif.
• Oct. 26 Visalia, Calif.
• Oct. 28 Escondido, Calif.
• Oct. 29 Santa Rosa, Calif.
• Oct. 30 Monterey, Calif.
• Nov. 1 Greeley, Colo.
• Nov. 2 Denver, Colo.
• Nov. 15 Clearwater, Fla.
• Nov. 16 Melbourne, Fla.
• Nov. 18 West Palm Beach, Fla.
• Nov. 19 Jacksonville, Fla.
• Nov. 20 Spartanburg, S.C.
• Nov. 21 Salem, Va.
• Nov. 22 Virginia Beach, Va.
• Nov. 23-24 Alexandria, Va.